James Webb Space Telescope Weekly Schedule Oct 24, 2022 to Oct 30, 2022

October 30, 2022


Last week James Webb Telescope observed several objects including asteroid Cigar Galaxy or M82, SH2-284, Galaxy SPT0346-52, 51 Eridani and its planet 51 Eridani b, Galaxy cluster Abell 2744, Fomalhaut, NGC-7172. For more details regarding these observations, check out last week's schedule here. This week, James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe Messier 71 or M71, Cassiopeia, I Zwicky 18, Trappist-1 system of seven rocky worlds, very distant young galaxy A2744 YD4 among other objects. Following are the major objects that James Webb Space Telescope will study this week (Oct 24 to Oct 30, 2022) as per the schedule published here. File Link, Link

M 71 -  globular cluster -  Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA

The little constellation of Sagitta is seen in this stunning NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image as a dazzling scattering of stars (the Arrow). The Messier 71 globular cluster, a massive ball of old stars on the outskirts of our galaxy about 13,000 light-years from Earth, has this as its center. M71 spans about 27 light-years.  Pockets of stars that are found on the periphery of large galaxies are known as globular clusters. The gravitational attraction that holds these clusters together firmly gives them their spherical shape and Latin name, globulus, which means "small sphere." There are approximately 150 of these globular clusters known to be present in the Milky Way, and each one of them is home to several hundred thousand stars. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe M 71 on October 25, 2022.

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 October 26, 2022.

I Zwicky 18 - Credit: NASA/STSCI

I Zwicky 18 is a blue compact dwarf galaxy that may be found in the constellation Ursa Major, 59 million light years distant. In a photographic survey of galaxies conducted in the 1930s, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky made the galaxy's initial discovery. Ground-based telescope spectroscopic measurements have revealed that I Zwicky 18 is almost entirely made up of hydrogen and helium, the primary elements produced in the Big Bang. The galaxy's primitive structure shows that its star creation rate has been far lower than that of other galaxies of comparable age. However, it is still unclear why I Zwicky 18 is currently producing so many stars and why it produced so few stars in the past. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe I Zwicky 18 on October 27, 2022.

Trappist 1 - Artist Concept - Credit: Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Aside from our own solar system, the most researched planetary system is located around 40 light-years away. With ground and space telescopes like Spitzer, Kepler, Hubble, and, shortly, the James Webb Space Telescope, we have studied the seven rocky exoplanets circling the TRAPPIST-1 star. On February 22, 2017, NASA released a news release announcing the finding of TRAPPIST-1, the star that has the greatest number of planets the size of Earth identified in its habitable zone. This system of seven rocky planets—all of which have the potential to have liquid water on their surfaces—is an exciting finding in the hunt for extraterrestrial life. Future research into this special planetary system might find conditions that are favorable for life. James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe Trappist 1 on October 27-29, 2022.

A very distant young galaxy A2744 - YD4 - Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

The newborn galaxy A2744 YD4 is incredibly far away. The Hubble Space Telescope originally detected this galaxy as a potential far-off galaxy in 2015. This galaxy sits behind the enormous galaxy cluster Abell 2744, making its identification possible. In 2017, ALMA studied it and found the earliest trace of oxygen producing light, only 600 million years after the Big Bang, as well as a small amount of dust (the most distant stardust to date). James Webb Telescope is scheduled to observe A2744 YD4 on October 29, 2022.