In a blog post on the 25th (local time), NASA reported that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST, hereinafter referred to as “Web”) was successfully performing an 18-mirror alignment.
Webb unfolds 18 gold-plated beryllium hexagonal mirrors to capture the image. Each mirror must move like a single mirror to be ready to capture even the light just after the Big Bang 13.5 billion years ago.
On the 11th, Webb sent Earth the first HD 84406 (a star in the constellation Ursa Major), taken along with a selfie of herself. He shot one star but didn’t finish sorting, so the 18 awards appear to be randomly scattered. The first of the seven steps of sorting is to find out which main scene is illuminated.
Steps 2 and 3 were all successful. Step 2 is a segment alignment step to sharpen the image. In the before and after photos, it can be seen that the widely spread light becomes clearer.
<제임스 웹 우주망원경이 포착한 이미지를 하나로 중첩한 모습. 사진=미 항공우주국(NASA)>>Step 3 is image stacking. It is a process of increasing sharpness and removing noise by superimposing images of each part after partial alignment.
Currently, the web is undergoing a four-step, coarse phasing, which makes one star sharper. All sorting steps are expected to be completed around May, and the first photos will be sent to Earth within the summer of this year.
Meanwhile, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space on Christmas Day on December 25 (local time) last year. With a production cost of 10 billion dollars (about 12 trillion won), this telescope is expected to uncover the origin, creation, and secrets of the universe in Lagrange 2 (gravity equilibrium point).
Reporter Seo Hee-won, Electronic Newspaper Internet ([email protected])