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After months of alignment and fine-tuning, the James Webb Space Telescope has produced its first clear image of a star, thanks to the Near Infrared Camera developed and managed by UArizona. NASA is confident that the telescope's optics can achieve the mission's science goals.
Engineering photos captured by UArizona's Near-Infrared Camera mark an important milestone for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. They confirm that the telescope is functioning and mirror alignment can begin. The public can expect to see the first scientific images from Webb in the summer.
Since the arrival of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope at its orbital destination Jan. 24, the mission operations team has successfully powered on all of the telescope's science instruments, including its primary camera, UArizona's Near Infrared Camera. NIRCam will be used to align the telescope's 18 mirror segments so they work together as one.
University of Arizona astronomers will help NASA's James Webb Space Telescope peer deeper into the universe than any telescope in history. Webb successfully launched on Christmas Day.
Marcia Rieke led the development of one of Webb's powerful infrared cameras. George leads the science team for another instrument on board. Both are Regents Professors at UArizona.
A team led by UArizona astronomers will use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to examine three of the most distant active supermassive black holes known, as well as their host galaxies.
