The James Webb Space Telescope, a powerful $10 billion observatory run by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, has frozen to its optimum temperature. The engineers completed the calibration of its scientific instruments. Now the telescope with a 21-foot-diameter mirror is open for business. Get ready for amazing astronomical photos and data, scientists say. SEE ALSO: The Webb Telescope just took the deepest picture of the universe ever NASA will release the first color images and science data from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, 2022. Credit: NASA / Chris Gunn “We’re just beginning to understand what Webb can and will do,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a news briefing last week. “It can answer some questions we have: Where do we come from? What else is out there? Who are we? And, of course, it will answer some questions we don’t even know what the questions are.” For the first photo release, NASA plans to reveal the images, one by one, during an event broadcast at 10:30 a.m. ET on July 12. You can watch this event live on NASA TV. Then you can ask the experts your burning questions about the new images and science. Questions can be submitted on social media using the #askNASA hashtag on Twitter or by leaving a comment in the Facebook chat section. Representatives from the Webb team will answer some of these cosmic questions during a NASA Science Live program at 3 p.m. ET on July 13. “It can answer some questions we have: Where do we come from? What else is out there? Who are we?” But if you want to get right down to the brass tacks, the images will be posted on this NASA webpage or this Space Telescope Science Institute page. The massive telescope consists of 18 hexagonally shaped mirrors, which are now perfectly aligned. Alignment test photos have already demonstrated the unparalleled sharpness and clarity of the infrared telescope. But these upcoming images will be the first to provide color images and demonstrate Webb’s advanced science capabilities Tweet may have been deleted (opens in new tab) NASA has kept most of the presentation secret, but officials confirmed last week that they will show a photo that is the farthest humans have ever looked into deep space. In addition, the space agency will release an atmospheric observation of a planet not in this solar system – what is known as the exoplanet spectrum. The light data from the spectrum gives astronomers detailed information about what molecules – such as water, carbon dioxide and methane – are there. These findings could help determine whether other planets could be hospitable to life.
