# 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:** 47
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/921 "2022-11-22T18:37:10Z")
And just to head off any misconceptions, “photochemistry” does not mean “photosynthesis”. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/922 "2022-11-22T19:40:09Z")
Unless you’re taking pictures of plants. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/923 "2022-11-22T22:39:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And just to head off any misconceptions, “photochemistry” is also not “phytochemistry”. Which is spelled almost identically but is also about plants. > **[Phytochemistry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytochemistry)** > > Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants. Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and plant biology, and the biosynthesis of these compounds. Plants synthesize phytochemicals for many reasons, including to protect themselves against insect attacks and plant diseases. The compounds found in plants are of many kinds, but most can be grouped in... ---
**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:** [November 23, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/924 "2022-11-23T16:53:55Z")
> [@kwintenstraler](#): > > JWST has made a molecular and chemical profile of WASP-39b. They detected for the first time concrete evidence of photochemistry on an exoplanet. > > [NASA’s Webb Reveals an Exoplanet Atmosphere as Never Seen Before - NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-reveals-an-exoplanet-atmosphere-as-never-seen-before) This is not to be confused with the planned atmospheric analysis of Trappist-1e, -1f, and -1g, three planets in the Trappist-1 system thought to be in the habitable zone. WASP-38b is a gas giant very close to its star and not a candidate for life, but is a good candidate for atmospheric analysis because it’s closer than the Trappist system and has a thick atmosphere. The Trappist analysis will be much harder to do but potentially more interesting. It’s also speculated, though, that being close to a cool star, as these planets are, may not be conducive to life as the proximity may make them vulnerable to radiation from stellar flares. Sill, Dr. Becky was pretty excited about this forthcoming research. According to the JWST observing schedule, five observations were made of Trappist-1b just over the past several weeks. Not sure why they’re focused on 1b as that wasn’t believed to be in the habitable zone. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/925 "2022-11-23T17:06:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Sill, Dr. Becky was pretty excited about this forthcoming research. She’s pretty excited about everything. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/926 "2022-11-23T22:54:43Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > She’s pretty excited about everything. She certainly bubbles with enthusiasm, but IIRC the atmospheres of the Trappist-1 planets was #1 on her list of most exciting approved JWST projects, and I tend to agree. I wish I knew more about the detailed plans, and also why Trappist-1b has been the focus of recent observations. The observation notes just say “MIRI”, which could mean many things as the MIRI instrument encompasses both spectrographic and imaging functions. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/927 "2022-11-28T20:02:46Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > taking pictures of plants I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/928 "2022-12-03T22:47:07Z")
What, if anything, is Webb observing in the SGR A\* neighborhood with all those big S stars whipping around? I became fascinated with this region a few years ago when I read a nice article (Sci Am, or Sky&Tel, can’t remember which). I think the challenges for researching this area include access to the IR regions where dust is minimally obscuring, high resolution, and maybe large aperture, which I think Webb brings. I think there is also a challenge with observing fainter stars obscured by S2 (IIRC), but I don’t know how Webb compares with other resources for imaging faint things very close to bright things – I’d guess Webb compares well…? A bit of my web searching turns up more gee whiz coffee table stuff than anything substantive. I can’t even tell if Webb has imaged here at all. Does anybody know? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/929 "2022-12-04T03:19:03Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > What, if anything, is Webb observing in the SGR A\* neighborhood with all those big S stars whipping around? According to this page, Webb observed the center of the Galaxy on 19-Sep-2022. However, there’s no images from that observation, so apparently they haven’t been released. All the images on the page are from other telescopes. [https://www.jameswebbdiscovery.com/news/galactic-center-of-milky-way-observed-by-james-webb-telescope](https://www.jameswebbdiscovery.com/news/galactic-center-of-milky-way-observed-by-james-webb-telescope) ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/930 "2022-12-04T10:52:29Z")
Thank you for finding that! Just the kind of thing I was hoping to hear! " _A significantly enhanced infrared vision will be available with James Webb Space Telescope, giving it the ability to reveal smaller stars and finer features._" I think this region should get multiple observations spread over time, but more frequently further on. Hopefully, I am interpreting September 19 as the first of many looks. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/931 "2022-12-14T22:17:22Z")
New pic released of North Ecliptic Pole Time Domain Field … more info [here](https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/12/14/webb-glimpses-field-of-extragalactic-pearls-studded-with-galactic-diamonds/), and full res pics [here](https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01GM3WVZFBH5S7Y6E0EXH1EH0Y) > **[North Ecliptic Pole Time Domain Field](https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01GM3WVZFBH5S7Y6E0EXH1EH0Y)** More deep field stuff, billions of stars & galaxies ! Wonderful ! ---
**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:** [December 30, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/932 "2022-12-30T18:54:35Z")
Well, they kept that quiet… [https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/](https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/) > The James Webb Space Telescope resumed science operations Dec. 20, after Webb’s instruments intermittently went into safe mode beginning Dec. 7 due to a software fault triggered in the attitude control system, which controls the pointing of the observatory. During a safe mode, the observatory’s nonessential systems are automatically turned off, placing it in a protected state until the problem can be fixed. This event resulted in several pauses to science operations totaling a few days over that time period. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/933 "2023-01-06T13:11:45Z")
> **[James Webb telescope reveals Milky Way–like galaxies in young universe](https://phys.org/news/2023-01-james-webb-telescope-reveals-milky.html)** > > New images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveal for the first time galaxies with stellar bars—elongated features of stars stretching from the centers of galaxies into their outer disks—at a time when the universe was a mere 25% of its... ---
**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:** [January 11, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/934 "2023-01-11T14:08:15Z")
> **[Webb telescope turns up baffling views of the early universe](https://www.livescience.com/jwst-early-universe-discoveries)** > > New results from the James Webb Space Telescope challenge prevailing models of the early universe. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/935 "2023-01-12T11:59:08Z")
[https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/nasa-s-webb-confirms-its-first-exoplanet](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/nasa-s-webb-confirms-its-first-exoplanet) Researchers confirmed an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope for the first time. Formally classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as our own, clocking in at 99% of Earth’s diameter. Webb also revealed that the planet is a few hundred degrees warmer than Earth, so if clouds are detected, it may lead the researchers to conclude that the planet is more like Venus, which has a carbon dioxide atmosphere and is perpetually shrouded in thick clouds. “We’re at the forefront of studying small, rocky exoplanets,” Lustig-Yaeger said. “We have barely begun scratching the surface of what their atmospheres might be like.” The researchers also confirmed that the planet completes an orbit in just two days, information that was almost instantaneously revealed by Webb’s precise [light curve](https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2023/102/01GNVXWS67QNTC7Z10FN2CJB1H). Although LHS 475 b is closer to its star than any planet in our solar system, its [red dwarf star](https://webbtelescope.org/glossary.html#h3-CK-90e3c863-5675-4518-9680-4f1ed865d62a) is less than half the temperature of the Sun, so the researchers project it still could have an atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/936 "2023-01-14T13:18:39Z")
Thanks for these links @kwintenstraler - all of these are really interesting articles. I’m hoping we are close to studying the atmospheres of distant planets and finding new things. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/937 "2023-01-29T14:10:24Z")
# Webb NIRISS Instrument has Gone Offline The JWST is having a problem. One of its instruments, the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS,) has gone offline. The NIRISS performs spectroscopy on exoplanet atmospheres, among other things. It’s been offline since Sunday. January 15th due to a communications error. The internal communications error led to the software timing out. There’s no indication that the instrument is damaged in any way, and the rest of the spacecraft is operating normally. > **[Webb NIRISS Instrument has Gone Offline](https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-niriss-instrument-has-gone-offline)** ---
**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:** [March 15, 2023, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/938 "2023-03-15T14:30:19Z")
> **[Webb captures rarely seen prelude to a supernova](https://phys.org/news/2023-03-webb-captures-rarely-prelude-supernova.html)** > > A Wolf-Rayet star is a rare prelude to the famous final act of a massive star: the supernova. As one of its first observations in 2022, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope captured the Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 in unprecedented detail. A... The telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the clumpy structure of the gas and dust nebula surrounding the star. Before Webb, dust-loving astronomers simply did not have enough detailed information to explore questions of dust production in environments like WR 124, and whether that dust was of sufficient size and quantity to survive and make a significant contribution to the overall dust budget. Now those questions can be investigated with real data ---
**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:** [March 16, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/939 "2023-03-16T20:24:14Z")
> [@kwintenstraler](#): > > The JWST is having a problem. One of its instruments, the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS,) has gone offline. The NIRISS performs spectroscopy on exoplanet atmospheres, among other things. > > It’s been offline since Sunday. January 15th due to a communications error. Worth mentioning that NIRISS is fully operational again, as of the end of January. Looks like it was a cosmic ray hit that upset the electronics. NASA and CSA determined that it could be safely rebooted. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624/940 "2023-03-16T20:38:34Z")
Cool ! Hi-res pic [here.](https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2023/111/01GTWASGERK0M8G86WZZSRC1ZX) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624.md?page=46) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-webb-space-telescope-general-discussion-thread/956624.md?page=48)