James Webb Space Telescope Weekly Schedule Nov 21, 2022 to Nov 28, 2022

November 21, 2022


Last week James Webb Telescope observed several objects including planet Jupiter and its moons Callisto and IO, Sculptor Galaxy - NGC 253, Exoplanet system - 55 Cancri, asteroids leucus, varuna, 2003AZ84, brown Dwarf WISE 0855−0714. For more details regarding these observations, check out last week's schedule here. This week, James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe Supernova remnants CASSIOPEIA, asteroids such as 526-JENA, POLYMELE, SILA-NUMAN, 2003WL7, 2000OK67, 2005PU21, 2008FC76, 2002AW197, 824ANASTASIA, DIDYMOS, comet LEMMON, exoplanet systems TRAPPIST-1B, 55CNC, WASP-52, HR8799, HD220657, Jupiter's moon Europa and Galaxies such as NGC-1566, NGC-3227 among various other objects. Following are the major objects that James Webb Space Telescope will study this week (Nov 21 to Nov 28, 2022) as per the schedule published here. File Link

Cassiopeia A - Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

The relic of a former huge star that perished in a catastrophic supernova explosion 325 years ago is known as Cassiopeia A, and it may be found 10,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. It is made up of a dead star known as a neutron star and the material that was shot off around it when the star perished. In the Chandra data, the neutron star appears as a bright turquoise dot at the middle of the shimmering shell. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe Cassiopeia A on November 21, 2022.

NGC 1566 - Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing & Copyright: Leo Shatz

This spiral galaxy is at the very least one of the most photogenic, if not the most photogenic. NGC 1566 is a stunning face-on picture of an island universe with billions of stars that is located around 40 million light-years away near the constellation of the Dolphinfish (Dorado). NGC 1566, which is categorized as a grand design spiral, has two striking and graceful spiral arms that are surrounded by dark cosmic dust lanes and luminous blue star clusters. NGC 1566 has been the subject of numerous Hubble Space Telescope photographs for the study of star formation, supernovae, and the spiral's exceptionally active center. The featured image was made using some of these photographs that were freely obtained, merged, and digitally edited and archived online in the Hubble Legacy Archive. The blazing center of NGC 1566 makes James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe NGC 1566 on November 22, 2022.

Europa - Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute

The size of Europa, which has an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers), is roughly 90% that of the Moon. Europa would therefore appear around the same size in the sky as our Moon but much, much brighter if it were to replace it. Due to the water ice that covers its surface, Europa reflects 5.5 times more sunlight than the Moon. With Jupiter orbiting the Sun at a distance of around 500 million miles (780 million kilometers), or 5.2 astronomical units, Europa orbits Jupiter at a distance of about 417,000 miles (671,000 kilometers) (AU). The same hemisphere of the moon always faces Jupiter due to Europa's regular 3.5-day orbit and gravitational lock to the planet. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe Europa on November 23, 2022.

Spiral Galaxy M-81 - Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Detlef Hartmann; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech

One of the brightest galaxies in the night sky, M81 was found by the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode in 1774. It lies in the constellation Ursa Major, 11.6 million light-years away, and has an apparent magnitude of 6.9. The galaxy is visible through a pair of binoculars as a slender patch of light in the same field of view as M82. The center of M81 can be seen with a modest telescope. April is the finest month to observe the galaxy. The core bulge of the galaxy is home to considerably older, redder stars. It is far bigger than the bulge of the Milky Way. M81's black hole, which is around 15 times as massive as the Milky Way's central black hole, has a mass of 70 million solar masses. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe the spiral galaxy M-81 on November 25, 2022.

Galaxy NGC 3227 - Credit - NASA, ESA, and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University)

In this image, the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 3226 (right) is interacting with the intermediate spiral galaxy NGC 3227 (left). The two galaxies are just one of several spiral galaxies with dwarf elliptical companions that are mentioned in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. You may find both galaxies in the constellation Leo. It belongs to the Leo II Groups, a collection of galaxies and galaxy clusters that branch out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster, and is a part of the NGC 3227 Group of galaxies. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe NGC 3227 on November 26, 2022.