August 28, 2022
Last week was an exciting week where we saw new images of Jupiter from James Webb Space Telescope and also a ground breaking discovery on the presence of carbon dioxide on an exoplanet Wasp-39b. In addition, James Webb Space Telescope spent hours observing galaxies, quasars, exoplanets, comets and young star clusters. For more details regarding these observations, check out last week's schedule here. This week, James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe Eris, a dwarf planet within the solar system, 1999KR16 a trans neptunian asteroid, Eagle Nebula (M-16), Butterfly Nebula (NGC-6302), Barred irregular galaxy (NGC-6822). Following are the major objects that James Webb Space Telescope will study this week (Aug 29 to Sep 05, 2022) as per the schedule published here. File Link
Eris and its moon Dysnomia - Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Discovered in 2003 by a team of astronomers led by Mike Brown, Eris is the largest known dwarf planet within the solar system. It is a trans Neptunian Object. Eris is little larger than Pluto and 2400 km wide. It is 3 times farther out than Pluto and orbits around the sun every 557 earth years. Eris appears gray is color and previous observations of Eris indicates that it has frozen methane on its surface. Dysnomia is the only known moon of Eris. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe Eris on Aug 30, 2022.
1999KR16 - Trans Neptunian Object Illustration - Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI);
1999KR16 is a trans-Neptunian object that was discovered on 16 May 1999. It is on an eccentric orbit in the outermost region of the Solar System, approximately 254 kilometers (158 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 16 May 1999, by French astronomer Audrey Delsanti and Oliver Hainaut at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. It appears as a reddish object and has a rotation period of 11.7 hours. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe 1999KR16 on Aug 30, 2022.
Eagle Nebula - Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
The Eagle Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation of Serpens. It is featured in many space and astronomy books as it’s an incredibly fascinating and awe-inspiring image. The nebula is made up of gas and dust which makes it look like a bird with intricate feathering. This makes the nebula an excellent example of poetic imagery where the creator’s mind gives life to inanimate objects to form a beautiful creature. The eagle represents the human spirit symbolically diving into the universe. James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to observe Eagle Nebula on Aug 31, 2022.
Butterfly Nebula - Credit: Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble
Butterfly Nebula is a bipolar planetary nebula that lies about 4,000 light years away in the constellation Scorpius. The structure in the nebula is among the most complex ever observed in planetary nebulae. Based on the previous observations from Hubble, its central star is known to be one of the hottest stars, with a surface temperature in excess of 250,000 degrees Celsius, implying that the star from which it formed must have been very large. Its central star is surrounded by a dense equatorial disc composed of gas and dust which gives it an appearance of an hourglass. James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to observe Butterfly Nebula on Sep 01, 2022.
NGC 6822 - Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
About 7000 light years in diameter, Barnard's Galaxy or NGC 6822 is a barred irregular galaxy approximately 1.6 million light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Bubble Nebula and Ring Nebula are famous nebulae of this galaxy. This galaxy was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884 (hence its name), with a six-inch refractor telescope. It is one of the closer galaxies to the Milky Way, but lies just outside its virial radius. It is similar in structure and composition to the Small Magellanic Cloud. James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to observe NGC 6822 on Sep 04, 2022 and Sep 05, 2022.