# 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:** 45
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/881 "2022-09-21T17:46:30Z")
This is potentially bad news: > **[NASA discovers a problem with one of the Webb Telescope’s most important...](https://www.inverse.com/science/jwst-mrs-anomaly)** > > One important mode used on the MIRI instrument on the massive telescope isn't working, and NASA is trying to assess if it can be fixed. The medium resolution spectroscopy mode of the MIRI (Mid Infrared Imager) is malfunctioning. There is a motorized ‘grating wheel’ in that mode allowing different diffraction gratings to be selected, and this wheel is exhibiting high resistance to turning, As a result, that whole mode of the MIRI instrument is offline until and if they solve the problem. MIRI has four modes. The other three are still operating normally. ---
**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 26, 2022, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/882 "2022-09-26T11:49:40Z")
No updates on this …? NASA’s JWST blog hasn’t been updated since 20th Sep. Apparently the problem was discovered before 6th Sep ! ---
**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 29, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/883 "2022-09-29T12:40:19Z")
> **[Webb reveals a galaxy sparkling with the universe's oldest star clusters](https://phys.org/news/2022-09-webb-reveals-galaxy-universe-oldest.html)** > > Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), researchers from the CAnadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS) team have identified the most distant globular clusters ever discovered. These dense groups of millions of stars may be relics that... In the finely detailed Webb’s First Deep Field image, the researchers zeroed in on what they’ve dubbed “the Sparkler galaxy,” which is nine billion [light years](https://phys.org/tags/light+years/) away. This galaxy got its name for the compact objects appearing as small yellow-red dots surrounding it, referred to by the researchers as “sparkles.” The team posited that these sparkles could either be young clusters actively forming stars—born three billion years after the Big Bang at the peak of star formation—or old globular clusters. Globular clusters are ancient collections of stars from a galaxy’s infancy and contain clues about its earliest phases of formation and growth. From their initial analysis of 12 of these compact objects, the researchers determined that five of them are not only globular clusters but among the oldest ones known. ---
**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 29, 2022, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/884 "2022-09-29T13:37:28Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > No updates on this …? > NASA’s JWST blog hasn’t been updated since 20th Sep. > Apparently the problem was discovered before 6th Sep ! Three and a half weeks and still no updates following the Sept 6 anomaly review board meeting? ---
**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 29, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/885 "2022-09-29T14:05:08Z")
[https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/webb-hubble-capture-detailed-views-of-dart-impact](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/webb-hubble-capture-detailed-views-of-dart-impact) Webb took one observation of the impact location before the collision took place, then several observations over the next few hours. Images from Webb’s [Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)](https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01FA0SZSEW1TZ51BHG0EGW2EZP?itemsPerPage=100)show a tight, compact core, with plumes of material appearing as wisps streaming away from the center of where the impact took place. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/886 "2022-10-12T17:43:38Z")
Two massive stars create funky rings: > **[Webb captures truly strange set of rings built by massive stars](https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/10/webb-catches-two-giant-stars-building-bizarre-concentric-rings/)** > > Over the past 120 years, stellar winds have built concentric circles of dust. Brian ---
**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:** [October 14, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/887 "2022-10-14T21:47:48Z")
Do we know when this was taken ? That link just says “early on”, and it was taken using the MIRI … So, is that working now ? Still no news about that (since 9/20/22) ---
**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:** [October 19, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/888 "2022-10-19T17:11:42Z")
[https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape – the iconic Pillars of Creation – where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear – at times – semi-transparent in near-infrared light. Webb’s new view of the Pillars of Creation, which were first made famous when imaged [by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 1995](https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/1995/44/351-Image.html), will help researchers revamp their models of star formation by identifying far more precise counts of newly formed stars, along with the quantities of gas and dust in the region. Over time, they will begin to build a clearer understanding of how stars form and burst out of these dusty clouds over millions of years. (Pictures at link above) ---
**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:** [October 19, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/889 "2022-10-19T17:29:09Z")
[![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52439693830_3b27330f88_3k.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52439693830_3b27330f88_3k.jpg) ---
**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:** [October 19, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/890 "2022-10-19T19:24:56Z")
It’s a giant 3 fingered claw ! 😱 ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/891 "2022-10-19T21:43:49Z")
\ DON’T STAND THERE GAWPING LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THE HAND OF GOD BEFORE! \ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/892 "2022-10-20T01:51:50Z")
It’s only a model. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/893 "2022-10-20T01:54:02Z")
That’s not the hand of god, this is the hand of god… [![](https://digitalhub.fifa.com/transform/b2b2babd-1c3b-4be6-af37-a5283e19ed79/FIFAPLS_FM_B_HandofGod_Hero_03) ](https://digitalhub.fifa.com/transform/b2b2babd-1c3b-4be6-af37-a5283e19ed79/FIFAPLS_FM_B_HandofGod_Hero_03) ---
**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:** [October 20, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/894 "2022-10-20T17:20:52Z")
> **[Webb reveals unprecedented glimpse of merging galaxies](https://phys.org/news/2022-10-webb-reveals-unprecedented-glimpse-merging.html)** > > Using the James Webb Space Telescope to look back in time at the early universe, astronomers discovered a surprise: a cluster of galaxies merging together around a rare red quasar within a massive black hole. The findings by Johns Hopkins University... ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/895 "2022-10-20T17:26:06Z")
It’s GODZILLA. (And I am awarding myself a kudo, because damned if I didn’t identify what the was an image of before reading the post before it.) ---
**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:** [October 20, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/896 "2022-10-20T19:02:02Z")
I guess we need to accept the fact that JWST has lost a quarter of its instruments. The Mid Infrared Imager (MIRI) function has not been restored. I wonder in what ways this will limit the science being conducted. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/897 "2022-10-20T19:09:13Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > I guess we need to accept the fact that JWST has lost a quarter of its instruments. Not at all. The problem only affects the MIRI mid-resolution spectroscopy mode. It still has its primary imaging, coronagraphic imaging, and low-resolution spectroscopy modes. There is also a whole other instrument, the NIRISS, for high-precision spectroscopy, and that’s what will be used to analyze (for instance) exoplanet atmospheres. ---
**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:** [October 20, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/898 "2022-10-20T19:10:09Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > The Mid Infrared Imager (MIRI) function has not been restored. Do we know this ? I’ve not seen any updates about that since early September ! ---
**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:** [October 20, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/899 "2022-10-20T19:12:20Z")
I’m basing this on the fact that they _haven’t_ announced the restoration of its function. Had function been restored I’m pretty sure they’d be singing the news from the rooftop. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/900 "2022-10-20T22:12:06Z")
I didn’t know quasars came in colors. The article says, > The blindingly bright quasar, fueled by what Zakamska calls a “monster” black hole at the center of the galactic swirl, is a rare “extremely red” quasar, about 11.5 billion years old and one of the most powerful ever seen from such distance. without bothering to explain what _extremely red_ means. Are they talking about red-shift? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624.md?page=46)