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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 galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3-7327 is overflowing with detail.
cluster SMACS J0723.3-7327 as seen by the JWST
Thousands of galaxies -including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared- have appeared in Webb's view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm's length by someone on the ground.
This deep field, taken by Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCAM), is a composite made from images at different wavelengths, totaling 12.5 hours - achieving depths at infrared wavelengths beyond the Hubble Space Telescope's deepest fields, which took weeks.
The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3-7327 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb's NIRCAM has brought those distant galaxies into sharp focus - 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 galaxies' masses, ages, histories, and compositions, as Webb seeks the earliest galaxies in the universe.
Compare the previous image of the J0723.3-7327 taken with the Hubble Telescope:
cluster SMACS J0723.3-7327 as seen by the Hubble
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@ Tue 12 Jul 03:33:05 CEST 2022
