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PJMcK

(23,311 posts)
5. Almost unimaginable!
Mon Jul 11, 2022, 06:03 PM
Jul 2022

All of those blotches of light are galaxies. The individual stars are just too far away for even the JWST to resolve. Still, it's a magnificent photo that is even more intense than the Hubble Deep Field pictures.

This telescope images primarily in the infra-red bands of light because light "red shifts" as the universe expands away from us. So the picture is actually false coloring compared to the raw data from the telescope. Still, I'm sure that the technicians have modified the colors in an accurate manner.

At the center of this picture are two white splotches; around them are semi-circles of orange lights. Those are probably multiple images of a galaxy many millions or billions of light years further away behind the two white splotches. The galaxy cluster in the middle is acting as a lens so we can see the galaxy that is further away. It's kind of like the multiple images you see when you look through a cut glass wine goblet. Interestingly, Einstein predicted this cosmic lensing but didn't think we'd ever see it!

I can't wait to see the full set of pictures. This telescope, like many others, will reveal many secrets of the universe. Those discoveries will raise a ton of more questions and mysteries. Ain't Science great?!

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