The James Webb Space Telescope

[berkeman]

IFYPFY. . . .

.

TIL that it's pronounced just like it's spelled... "iffy-piffy".

 

[Filip Larsen]

Webb depicts staggering structure in 19 nearby spiral galaxies

 

[pinball1970]

The Horsehead Nebula image from Webb was in the UK metro this morning.

Located in Orion's Belt 1,375Ly from Earth.

All the images in the link and I have pasted a couple.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/w...nic-horsehead-nebula-in-unprecedented-detail/

A side by side with Hubble and Euclid.

Euclid was launched last July and is also at L2 with Webb and Gaia.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia

 

[DennisN]

There are rumors that 55 Cancri might be one of the first, or even the first, target. It has five known exoplanets, the innermost orbits the star in less than a day.

More recent about 55 Cancri:

Renyu Hu, et. al. "A secondary atmosphere on the rocky Exoplanet 55 Cancrie", 8 May 2024 (Nature)

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Abstract:

Characterizing rocky exoplanets is a central endeavor of astronomy, and yet the search for atmospheres on rocky exoplanets has hitherto resulted in either tight upper limits on the atmospheric mass ^1–3 or inconclusive results ^4–6. The 1.95-R_Earth and 8.8-M_Earth planet 55 Cnc e, with a predominantly rocky composition and an equilibrium temperature of ~2000 K, may have a volatile envelope (containing molecules made from a combination of C, H, O, N, S, and P elements) that accounts for up to a few percent of its radius ^7–13. The planet has been observed extensively with transmission spectroscopy ^14–22, and its thermal emission has been measured in broad photometric bands ^23–26. These observations disfavor a primordial H2/He-dominated atmosphere but cannot conclusively determine whether the planet has a secondary atmosphere^27,28. Here we report a thermal emission spectrum of the planet obtained by JWST’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments from 4 to 12 μm. The measurements rule out the scenario where the planet is a lava world shrouded by a tenuous atmosphere made of vaporized rock^29–32, and indicate a bona fide volatile atmosphere likely rich in CO₂ or CO. This atmosphere can be outgassed from and sustained by a magma ocean.

and indicate a bona fide volatile atmosphere likely rich in CO₂ or CO

So, maybe lots of soda cans opened there, or lots of combustion engines? Or both?
Seriously, I think it's fascinating.

Edit: The planet in question is 55 Cancri e.

Edit 2:

And an article:

Webb discovers evidence of an atmosphere around a rocky super-Earth planet orbiting a Sun-like star
(BBC Sky At Night Magazine, by Iain Todd, May 8, 2024)