Humanity had a lot to wait for NASA to finally deploy the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) into space. There’s no wonder why, as we’re talking about the most powerful space telescope ever built. NASA launched it last Christmas after a long series of delays.
It was certainly worth the long wait. On July 12, James Webb revealed to the world the first full-color images of the depths of the Cosmos. But just in case you want to see how such a telescope magnifies the portion of space that it captures in a frame of view, you’ve made it to the right place!
The Southern Ring Nebula is among those celestial objects that James Webb has photographed in space. We’re talking about a nebula located roughly 2,500 light-years away from us. Seeing it in a simple picture is one thing, but it truly becomes a blessing to see the space magnifying enough until the nebula itself becomes recognizable.
Behold:
Travel to the Southern Ring Nebula in this zoom in video and enjoy once more the #NIRCam view #WebbSeesFarther pic.twitter.com/KtiI01a7JQ
— ESA Webb Telescope (@ESA_Webb) July 27, 2022
The video was possible thanks to the European Space Agency (ESA) teaming up with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
The Southern Ring Nebula showcases a stellar death, as a star that’s about the same size of our Sun has finished burning up its fuel. As a result, it’s releasing clouds of gas into space.
As for now, astronomers still didn’t even get a grasp of the full potential of what James Webb is still capable. The telescope will also have to allow astronomers to learn more about black holes, for instance.
Here’s what a statement wrote:
To realize the James Webb Space Telescope’s full science potential, it is imperative that the science community quickly learns to use its instruments and capabilities.
Just in case you still feel too big and important, perhaps the video has made you have a more modest perception.