From the Bits of Universe archive — 12/07/2022

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s first deep field, this image of the SMACS 0723 galaxy cluster is bursting with detail.

Thousands of galaxies, including the faintest objects ever observed in infrared, appeared for the first time at Webb’s sight. This slice of the vast universe is about the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length from someone on the ground looking up at the sky.

This deep field, captured by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), is a composition of images at different wavelengths, for a total of 12.5 hours of exposure, reaching depths at infrared wavelengths well beyond fields deeper than the Hubble Space Telescope, which took weeks to accomplish.
The image shows the SMACS 0723 galaxy cluster as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. The combined mass of this cluster of galaxies acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying galaxies far behind it (those slightly curved red-orange lines surrounding the center of the photograph). Webb’s NIRCam has focused on those distant galaxies – 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 masses, ages, histories and compositions of galaxies, as Webb goes in search of the first galaxies in the universe.

This image is among the telescope’s first color images. The full suite will be released on Tuesday, July 12, starting at 10:30 am EDT, during a NASA live TV. Further information can be found at this link