# James Webb Space Telescope general discussion thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [December 25, 2021, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624 "2021-12-25T13:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 44
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/861 "2022-09-12T15:24:16Z")
Anyone heard recently about JWST returning some early data that seems to run counter to many of the assumptions we have about the Big Bang? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/862 "2022-09-12T16:32:04Z")
I saw a coupled of videos recommended by YT about it (click bait AFAICT) but i didn’t watch them. …but [space](https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-science-denial) has denied it. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/863 "2022-09-12T18:25:51Z")
Well, _I_ saw a video that said scientists are shocked to discover the Webb telescope is so sensitive, it can hear the screams of all the atheists in Hell. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/864 "2022-09-12T18:26:35Z")
I think you are correct. These details tend to get glossed over in popular coverage of astronomy. I also believe that what makes these observations significant is the time, rather than the distance. If the light has taken 12 billion years to reach us, the galaxy must have formed when the universe was only about a billion years old, give or take. Analyzing the light tells us how the universe has grown and developed. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/865 "2022-09-13T12:58:56Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > …JWST returning some early data that seems to run counter… Perhaps you mean the surprising data about very early galaxies and black holes apparently being larger than theories predicted they could have grown so early? ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/866 "2022-09-13T13:01:42Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Perhaps you mean the surprising data about very early galaxies and black holes apparently being larger than theories predicted they could have grown so early? Yes. Another surprise was that early galaxies appear to be much smoother than expected, making the frequency of galactic collisions appear much more rare than anticipated. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/867 "2022-09-13T13:38:13Z")
I think that the most disappointing thing that JWST could have done is to return data that exactly fits the models that we already have. ---
**Author:** ![kwintenstraler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kwintenstraler/32/10698_2.png) [@kwintenstraler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwintenstraler)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/868 "2022-09-13T15:30:55Z")
[![](https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2022/webb-telescope-capture-3.jpg) ](https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2022/webb-telescope-capture-3.jpg) Orion Nebula: JWST versus Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Credit: NASA There’s a winged creature in the Orion Nebula! ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/869 "2022-09-13T15:40:23Z")
> [@kwintenstraler](#): > > There’s a winged creature in the Orion Nebula! That’ll be a space owl. (where’d you find those pics ? I wish they’d have just 1 central picture repository !) ---
**Author:** ![kwintenstraler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kwintenstraler/32/10698_2.png) [@kwintenstraler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwintenstraler)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/870 "2022-09-13T15:56:47Z")
Got these from this article [Webb telescope captures 'breathtaking' images of Orion Nebula](https://phys.org/news/2022-09-webb-telescope-captures-breathtaking-images.html) Looks more like an space-eagle to me ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/871 "2022-09-13T15:58:42Z")
Cheers ! (definitely an owl) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/872 "2022-09-13T16:15:14Z")
Crossover from the Questionable Content [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip) [![](https://www.questionablecontent.net/comics/150.png) ](https://www.questionablecontent.net/comics/150.png) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/873 "2022-09-13T22:36:02Z")
I hope they make a wall calendar of photos from this telescope for next year. (I always get one of those for my husband.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/874 "2022-09-14T01:52:24Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Perhaps you mean the surprising data about very early galaxies and black holes apparently being larger than theories predicted they could have grown so early? Black holes being larger than theories predict they could have grown to is old, old news. That one’s been a puzzle for decades. Which just means, of course, that we don’t know the mechanism, not that there isn’t one. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/875 "2022-09-14T02:29:00Z")
> [@kwintenstraler](#): > > There’s a winged creature in the Orion Nebula! An’ it’s comin’ right for us! ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/876 "2022-09-14T10:56:28Z")
I suppose it could be space eagle owl. (but i don’t think they’re native to this galaxy) ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/877 "2022-09-14T11:11:30Z")
Also looks a bit like a Romulan warbird firing off a plasma torpedo. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/878 "2022-09-14T11:22:59Z")
Then all we have to do is fly backwards really fast until the plasma breaks up enough to be survivable. Should be easy enough. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/879 "2022-09-20T19:50:45Z")
The JWST has done its first imaging of Mars. [Mars Is Mighty in First Webb Observations of Red Planet – James Webb Space Telescope (nasa.gov)](https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/09/19/mars-is-mighty-in-first-webb-observations-of-red-planet/) This seems to be more of a proof of concept than cutting edge research, but it shows that Webb has abundant potential to study the planets of the solar system as well as distant galaxies. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/880 "2022-09-21T13:27:10Z")
New Pic of Neptune. It is on the NASA page, but I’m linking the ARS Technica article as it has the Voyager and Hubble images as well (it has a link to the NASA page) > **[New JWST image reveals full glory of Neptune, its moons, and rings](https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/09/webb-telescope-captures-dazzling-views-of-neptune-and-its-moons/)** > > "It has been three decades since we last saw these faint, dusty rings." Brian [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624.md?page=45)