Also visible are the moons of Jupiter, Europa, Thebes and Metis. The images, posted Thursday night on a Nasa blog, are not as refined as the five images of distant galaxies and nebulae that the space agency shared with the public on Tuesday. Instead, the Jovian images come from data collected during Webb’s commissioning phase during the spring, when operators pointed the telescope at different objects to make sure everything was working properly. However, the images give an indication of the wide range of science Webb can pursue, studying not only distant galaxies, but also planets in our own cosmic backyard. And despite Jupiter’s official scientific observations, scientists said the image is impressive in its clarity and resolution. “I couldn’t believe we saw it all so clearly and how bright it was,” said Stefanie Milam, Webb associate program scientist for planetary science at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “It’s really exciting to think about the ability and the opportunity we have to observe these kinds of objects in our solar system.” Data from Webb’s commissioning phase, as well as the data underlying the stunning first images released to the public on Tuesday, are now being released to the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Mikulski Archive for Space Telescope Science for further study. But scientists won’t have to wait long before Webb’s first round of official science observations begins this summer, a program that will include observations of Jupiter, Uranus, asteroids and Mars, as well as the most distant galaxies in the Universe.
