Still no new observations, but I though I might regale you with some upcoming observations once it starts.

The list of approved JWST observations can be found on https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-programs/cycle-1-go

https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-public/1549.pdf
The deepest search for rare molecules and isotopologues in planet-forming disks

To observe three protoplanetary disks around stars FZ Tau, TW Cha, VZ Cha, using two asteroids for calibration.
“We propose to obtain deep 4.9-28.4 micron MIRI spectroscopy of three molecule-rich protoplanetary disks, known to show very bright water line emission.” Specifically looking for Oxygen-18 isotope in the water.

“The spectra will contain many lines from water, C2H2, HCN, CH4, NH3, OH and their isotopologues. We will search for warm NH3 and CH4 as signposts of a vigorous primordial chemistry in the terrestrial planet-forming region.” Calibrated using “deep spectra of two bright asteroids”.

https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-public/1433.pdf
Physical Properties of the Triply-Lensed z = 11 Galaxy

“The z = 11.1 galaxy MACS0647-JD is one of the two most distant objects known.” “the system is spatially unresolved with HST,” “study the
early phases of galaxy formation at the cosmic age of only 400 Myr”. This galaxy has a small radius an relatively large mass, 10 million to a billion suns.

Looking for:
1) A precise spectroscopic redshift
2) More precise measurements of the star formation rate, stellar mass, age
3) Spatial resolution down to 30 parsecs
4) Metallicity and ionisation.

https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-public/1424.pdf
Extreme Events on Solar System Gas Giants

This is a target of opportunity proposal to observe the aftermath of giant impact events or storm plumes on Jupiter and Saturn. These are impossible to predict in advance, so will be triggered by alerts from Earth based observatories. The JWST would allow us to derive the 3D structure of temperatures, winds, chemical composition and aerosols associated with these unique and rare events.

https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-public/1658.pdf
Pluto’s climate system

“Pluto’s climate evolution, chemistry and energy balance”.

https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-public/2418.pdf
Discovering the composition of the trans-Neptunian objects.

Includes infrared spectroscopy of 59 TNOs. (Not the dwarf planets unfortunately).

https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-public/1726.pdf (yes yes yes, this one I want. Should give some startling imagery.)
Shocks and expanding ejecta in Supernova 1987A

“NIRCam images of SN 1987A, which at a distance of 50 kpc is the nearest SN explosion detected in the last 400 years. Since the explosion, the fastest part of the blast wave has overtaken the circumstellar ring, which consists of material expelled from the progenitor star when it was in a red-supergiant phase about 20,000 years ago. Deep NIRCam images, including with the 1.64um filter, can identify for the first time the location of the current shocked region beyond SN 1987A’s ring.”

James Webb space telescope blog.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/

Planned observations of extrasolar planet HD 80606 b
The planned “start” and “end” of the 18 hour stretch of Webb observations are indicated

Detecting the earliest galaxies. Webb is better at small field of view measurements into deep space. Not wide surveys.

mollwollfumble said:

James Webb space telescope blog.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/

Planned observations of extrasolar planet HD 80606 b
The planned “start” and “end” of the 18 hour stretch of Webb observations are indicated

Detecting the earliest galaxies. Webb is better at small field of view measurements into deep space. Not wide surveys.

Methane, ammonia, acetylene, hydrogen cyanide.

Not exactly the place to go to for the bracing and refreshing breezes, is it

captain_spalding said:

mollwollfumble said:

James Webb space telescope blog.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/

Planned observations of extrasolar planet HD 80606 b
The planned “start” and “end” of the 18 hour stretch of Webb observations are indicated

Detecting the earliest galaxies. Webb is better at small field of view measurements into deep space. Not wide surveys.

Methane, ammonia, acetylene, hydrogen cyanide.

Not exactly the place to go to for the bracing and refreshing breezes, is it

You might think so, but I call it “food”.
Add water and heat up for 10 hours or so and the result will be edible.

—-

Come on Webb, we should have a second image by now. From those “Step 6, all fields of view” calibrations.

MIRI optics on Webb. = Mid Infra-Red Instrument

One of three MIRI chips.

The MIRI filter wheel.

Understand all that?
Me neither.

Finally, something new.

High res version at https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/multimedia/search/Image/Download/17232

mollwollfumble said:

Finally, something new.

High res version at https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/multimedia/search/Image/Download/17232

The following info from NASA Webb Telescope on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1519756564772630528?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

In view is a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. That’s why there are so many stars and so few galaxies in the pictures.

This mosaic is in a red color palette that was chosen to optimize visual contrast.

NIRSpec is a spectrograph, not an imager, but it can take images for calibrations & target acquisition. See those dark bands? They’re due to structures of its microshutter array — tiny “window” shutters that can be opened or shut to capture data from 100 objects simultaneously.

Bundled together with NIRISS is Webb’s Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS), which tracks guide stars to point the observatory accurately and precisely. Its 2 sensors are not generally used for scientific imaging but can take calibration images like these.

The optical performance of the telescope continues to be better than the engineering team’s most optimistic predictions. From this point forward the only changes to the mirrors will be very small, periodic adjustments to the primary mirror segments.

During Webb’s next & final step, instrument calibration, each instrument’s specialized tools (masks, filters, lenses, etc.) will be configured and operated in various combinations. This will allow us to confirm their readiness for science operations this summer.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Finally, something new.

High res version at https://asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/multimedia/search/Image/Download/17232

The following info from NASA Webb Telescope on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1519756564772630528?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

In view is a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. That’s why there are so many stars and so few galaxies in the pictures.

This mosaic is in a red color palette that was chosen to optimize visual contrast.

NIRSpec is a spectrograph, not an imager, but it can take images for calibrations & target acquisition. See those dark bands? They’re due to structures of its microshutter array — tiny “window” shutters that can be opened or shut to capture data from 100 objects simultaneously.

Bundled together with NIRISS is Webb’s Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS), which tracks guide stars to point the observatory accurately and precisely. Its 2 sensors are not generally used for scientific imaging but can take calibration images like these.

The optical performance of the telescope continues to be better than the engineering team’s most optimistic predictions. From this point forward the only changes to the mirrors will be very small, periodic adjustments to the primary mirror segments.

During Webb’s next & final step, instrument calibration, each instrument’s specialized tools (masks, filters, lenses, etc.) will be configured and operated in various combinations. This will allow us to confirm their readiness for science operations this summer.

Official press release for above images. https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/04/28/nasas-webb-in-full-focus-ready-for-instrument-commissioning/

Ewetube on the alignment process https://youtu.be/UAx-D0GCvnI

https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-thermal-stability-test

Well, Webb is aligned, what next?

The James Webb Space Telescope, which just finished its alignment phase last week with sharp images of distant stars, is preparing a thermal stability test. This daring gauntlet will deliberately turn the observatory between positions where it receives more or less sunlight. The goal is to make sure the $10 billion observatory can sail through its science work despite the extremes of space and without sacrificing the quality of its images, its pointing ability or other vital abilities that will keep it focused on the early universe.

“The thermal stability exercise will measure these changes by moving between the extremes of Webb’s field of view, from the hot to the cold attitude, spending multiple days in the cold attitude, then slewing back to the hot attitude,” To be sure, Webb does have a five-layer sunshield to keep it protected from the worst of solar radiation fluctuations, but the observatory still experiences some changes as the angle of the sun shifts upon the sunshade..

Webb will start the test in a “hot attitude,” representing 0 degrees pitch. (Pitch represents the angle towards or away from the sun, between -5 and +45 degrees.) It will stay there for five days to stabilize, also allowing teams to take measurements from Earth. Then the team will turn Webb to a colder attitude, roughly +40 degrees pitch. Here, the observatory’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) will be tested for 24 hours to see if there are any effects on the optics, and then the telescope’s stability will be monitored for 12 hours to see how it performs with the thermal change, Smith said.

The telescope will sit in this freezer mode for about a week to allow the temperatures to further stabilize, before slewing once again to a hot attitude. For this second round in the heat, Webb will use both NIRCam and its fine guidance sensor to collect stability data.

The mid-infrared instrument will also be deployed in hot and cold attitudes “to understand how the changing thermal environment affects the mid-infrared background levels,”

Before and after.

Spitzer infrared vs MIRI (mid infrared imager on James Webb). Same wavelength.

These images were released back on May 9.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/05/09/miris-sharper-view-hints-at-new-possibilities-for-science/

The MIRI test image (at 7.7 microns) shows part of the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Webb’s MIRI image shows the interstellar gas in unprecedented detail. Here, you can see the emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

What Webb will be doing over the next 3 months was discussed on May 9 and a summary posted on May 12.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/05/

Seventeen Modes to Discovery: Webb’s Final Commissioning Activities
There are 17 different instrument “modes” to check out on our way to getting ready for the start of science this summer.
See also https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/deploymentExplorer.html

1. Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) imaging. Near-infrared imaging will take pictures in part of the visible to near-infrared light, 0.6 to 5.0 micrometers wavelength. This mode will be used for almost all aspects of Webb science, from deep fields to galaxies, star-forming regions to planets in our own solar system. An example target in a Webb cycle 1 program using this mode: the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field.

2. NIRCam wide field slitless spectroscopy. Spectroscopy separates the detected light into individual colors. Slitless spectroscopy spreads out the light in the whole instrument field of view so we see the colors of every object visible in the field. Slitless spectroscopy in NIRCam was originally an engineering mode for use in aligning the telescope, but scientists realized that it could be used for science as well. Example target: distant quasars.

3. NIRCam coronagraphy. When a star has exoplanets or dust disks in orbit around it, the brightness from a star usually will outshine the light that is reflected or emitted by the much fainter objects around it. Coronagraphy uses a black disk in the instrument to block out the starlight in order to detect the light from its planets. Example target: the gas giant exoplanet HIP 65426 b.

4. NIRCam time series observations – imaging. Most astronomical objects change on timescales that are large compared to human lifetimes, but some things change fast enough for us to see them. Time series observations read out the instruments’ detectors rapidly to watch for those changes. Example target: a pulsing neutron star called a magnetar.

5. NIRCam time series observations – grism. When an exoplanet crosses the disk of its host star, light from the star can pass through the atmosphere of the planet, allowing scientists to determine the constituents of the atmosphere with this spectroscopic technique. Scientists can also study light that is reflected or emitted from an exoplanet, when an exoplanet passes behind its host star. Example target: lava rain on the super-Earth-size exoplanet 55 Cancri e.

6. Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) multi-object spectroscopy. Although slitless spectroscopy gets spectra of all the objects in the field of view, it also allows the spectra of multiple objects to overlap each other, and the background light reduces the sensitivity. NIRSpec has a microshutter device with a quarter of a million tiny controllable shutters. Opening a shutter where there is an interesting object and closing the shutters where there is not allows scientists to get clean spectra of up to 100 sources at once. Example target: the Extended Groth Strip deep field.

7. NIRSpec fixed slit spectroscopy. In addition to the microshutter array, NIRSpec also has a few fixed slits that provide the ultimate sensitivity for spectroscopy on individual targets. Example target: detecting light from a gravitational-wave source known as a kilonova.

8. NIRSpec integral field unit spectroscopy. Integral field unit spectroscopy produces a spectrum over every pixel in a small area, instead of a single point, for a total of 900 spatial/spectral elements. This mode gives the most complete data on an individual target. Example target: a distant galaxy boosted by gravitational lensing.

9. NIRSpec bright object time series. NIRSpec can obtain a time series spectroscopic observation of transiting exoplanets and other objects that change rapidly with time. Example target: following a hot super-Earth-size exoplanet for a full orbit to map the planet’s temperature.

10. Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) single object slitless spectroscopy. To observe planets around some of the brightest nearby stars, NIRISS takes the star out of focus and spreads the light over lots of pixels to avoid saturating the detectors. Example target: small, potentially rocky exoplanets TRAPPIST-1b and 1c.

11. NIRISS wide field slitless spectroscopy. NIRISS includes a slitless spectroscopy mode optimized for finding and studying distant galaxies. This mode will be especially valuable for discovery, finding things that we didn’t already know were there. Example target: pure parallel search for active star-forming galaxies.

12. NIRISS aperture masking interferometry. NIRISS has a mask to block out the light from 11 of the 18 primary mirror segments in a process called aperture masking interferometry. This provides high-contrast imaging, where faint sources next to bright sources can be seen and resolved for images. Example target: a binary star with colliding stellar winds.

13. NIRISS imaging. Because of the importance of near-infrared imaging, NIRISS has an imaging capability that functions as a backup to NIRCam imaging. Scientifically, this is used mainly while other instruments are simultaneously conducting another investigation, so that the observations image a larger total area. Example target: a Hubble Frontier Field gravitational lensing galaxy cluster.

14. Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) imaging. Just as near-infrared imaging with NIRCam will be used on almost all types of Webb targets, MIRI imaging will extend Webb’s pictures from 5 to 27 microns, the mid-infrared wavelengths. Mid-infrared imaging will show us, for example, the distributions of dust and cold gas in star-forming regions in our own Milky Way galaxy and in other galaxies. Example target: the nearby galaxy Messier 33.

15. MIRI low-resolution spectroscopy. At wavelengths between 5 and 12 microns, MIRI’s low-resolution spectroscopy can study fainter sources than its medium-resolution spectroscopy. Low resolution is often used for studying the surface of objects, for example, to determine the composition. Example target: Pluto’s moon Charon.

16. MIRI medium-resolution spectroscopy. MIRI can do integral field spectroscopy over its full mid-infrared wavelength range, 5 to 28.5 microns. This is where emission from molecules and dust display very strong spectral signatures. Example targets: molecules in planet-forming disks.

17. MIRI coronagraphic imaging. MIRI has two types of coronagraphy: a spot that blocks light and three four-quadrant phase mask coronagraphs. These will be used to directly detect exoplanets and study dust disks around their host stars. Example target: searching for planets around our nearest neighbor star Alpha Centauri A.