James webb deep field

The James Webb deep field reveals thousands of distant galaxies in unprecedented detail.

About this subject

The James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) deep field, released on July 11, 2022, is the sharpest and deepest infrared image of the Universe ever captured. It features the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, located about 4.6 billion light-years away, whose immense mass acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying even more distant galaxies, some as old as 13 billion years. The exposure lasted 12.5 hours of observation, capturing wavelengths invisible to the human eye, revealing never-before-seen structures such as light curves from stars and interstellar dust. Scientists estimate the image contains thousands of galaxies, some formed less than 600 million years after the Big Bang, providing clues about the evolution of early stars and galaxies. This image represents a major leap forward compared to the Hubble Deep Field, which required multi-day exposures and captured visible and ultraviolet light, while JWST operates in the infrared, allowing it to peer through cosmic dust clouds and observe objects with high redshift.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the James Webb deep field?

It is the first deep-field image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, showing thousands of galaxies in the SMACS 0723 cluster with unprecedented infrared detail.

What is the difference between the JWST deep field and Hubble's deep field?

JWST observes in infrared, allowing it to see more distant and dusty objects than Hubble, which operates mainly in visible and ultraviolet light. JWST's exposure time was 12.5 hours, compared to days for Hubble.

How many galaxies are in the James Webb deep field image?

The image is estimated to contain thousands of galaxies, including some with redshift above 8, formed less than 600 million years after the Big Bang.