Terribly boring presentation, but the first image is pretty cool.
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/main_image_deep_field_smacs0723-5mb.jpg
I wonder if they’ll explain more detail some of the galaxy shapes, brightness, etc.
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They have a brief writeup explaining part of it
This deep field, taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is a composite made from images at different wavelengths, totaling 12.5 hours – achieving depths at infrared wavelengths beyond the Hubble Space Telescope’s deepest fields, which took weeks.
The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb’s NIRCam has brought those distant galaxies into sharp focus – they have tiny, faint structures that have never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features. Researchers will soon begin to learn more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions, as Webb seeks the earliest galaxies in the universe.
Any of the red smudges that look like they’re being spread out in a circle are galaxies being gravitationally lensed and there are probably galaxies that were lensed multiple times.
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This the context I’m here for. Shit’s wild. Don’t really understand what I’m looking at but excited to see some more pictures tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/nasawebb/status/1546621169994027011?s=21&t=3zrpYbTY8pkYRvhUaEB1TQ
This is the same region of space as seen by Hubble
And a gif comparing the two images courtesy of Reddit
https://i.redd.it/9uyhwijeo0b91.gif
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I’m a little underwhelmed to be honest, sure the Webb image is clearer but it’s not like radically different.
JWST was able to get this photo in hours when the Hubble took weeks. That combined with the increased amount of identifiable objects make it so impressive.
every time i see the deep field photos and ponder the vastness of the universe and wonder how many intelligent beings over the eons have pondered the same, briefly am filled with awe, and then I get annoyed I had the misfortune of being born on this stupid planet.
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Embrace the multiverse.
Have you seen the other planets?
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meanwhile, my flat earth group’s been fun lately after stretches of quiet or not much fish in the water, however, not a lot gets them riled up like big nasa news:
I mean to be fair, Astro photography is not really anything similar to what the human eye can see.
These new space images are simultaneously the most profound thing I’ve ever seen in my life; and I have no idea what to do with this new info.
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I kinda feel like a turd thinking that they’re just more hi-res and more colorful images of what we’ve already seen, but not much more than that. I wish I was blown away by them heh
I’m not this cynical about it, but I can relate.
I remember that when they released the Hubble deep field image I was blown away. Like I spent literal hours just staring at it, dumbfounded. I was kind of hoping to have a reaction like that, but looked at objectively that’s just an impossibly high bar. The new images are impressive, but there’s no way they could have been impressive enough to satisfy my inner kid.
Yeah, as a layperson I still haven’t grasped what the nerds are getting all excited about, so maybe if I actually educate myself I’ll find a greater appreciation. But the whole whoaa you can see some extra details in the nebula compared to Hubble isn’t all that exciting to me.
Counterpoint - as far as we know, this is the only planet with bacon cheeseburgers.