After decades of development and many trials and frustrations along the way, the James Webb Telescope has finally started to deliver what it came for. On July 12, NASA released the first science observations made by the suite of instruments carried on board the mission, marking what we eagerly anticipate will be the beginning of a new era in astronomy.
After the nail-biting launch on Christmas Day, a series of critical deployments followed to open up the telescope and its sunshade. If any of these operations had failed, James Webb would have been an unusable disaster. But the programme was perfectly executed, as the amazing observatory it has been planned to be.
It was very exciting to see the new images selected by an international committee of representatives from NASA. Scientists were not prepared for the level of crispness and fine detail that can be seen. It’s a joy to finally have such high-quality data.
Unveiled by US president Joe Biden, the stunning images of SMACS 0723, a cluster of thousands of galaxies, were released on July 11. The massive foreground galaxy groups magnify and twist the light of objects behind them, helping us to have a closer look at very faint objects in time.
The image shows the galaxy cluster as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. Images such as this will help us understand how the first stars and galaxies formed. Some of these may be among the most distant objects known, from the beginning of the universe.
The size of a telescope-its aperture (孔径) -is the key thing that decides the ultimate quality of the images and the detail that can be observed. Bigger is better. With its six-metre aperture, James Webb is the largest telescope ever launched into space and from its vantage point a million miles from Earth, free from the Earth’s atmosphere, it is expected to deliver the best, most detailed views of the universe we have ever seen. There is no doubt that it will revolutionize our understanding of the universe, just as its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, once did.
【小题1】What marked the beginning of a new era in astronomy?| A．The successful launch of the James Webb Telescope. |
| B．The perfect operation of the James Webb Telescope. |
| C．The first scientific exploration mission carried out by the James Webb Telescope. |
| D．The new images about the galaxy cluster unveiled by US president Joe Biden. |
| A．How the first stars and galaxies formed 4.6 billion years ago. |
| B．The clear and detailed images observed by the James Webb Telescope. |
| C．The programme of the James Webb Telescope was perfectly performed. |
| D．The James Webb Telescope went through decades of development and tests. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Tiny. | C．Weak. | D．Blank. |
| A．The James Webb Telescope is larger than the Hubble Space Telescope. |
| B．The Hubble Space Telescope covers a distance of six metres. |
| C．Our understanding of the universe has been completely changed by the James Webb Telescope. |
| D．A million miles from Earth is the best location for astronomy observation. |
