This is what Mars looks like from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope sent the first images of the red planet, this mission is done in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency

FPJ Web Desk Updated: Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 11:45 AM IST
The first images of Mars were taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. | NASA Webb

The first images of Mars were taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. | NASA Webb

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was successfully launched in December 2021 and has now got the first images of the Red Planet.

This telescope is a collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

This telescope is currently 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2).

The Near-Infrared Camera on JWST acquired the first photographs of Mars (NIRCam), the short-term phenomena studies that the webb is expected to study dust stroms, weather patterns, and seasonal changes. The images suggest that they have light brown patches that break the predominantly mottled dark brown colour this colour coding indicates that these lighter patches are brighter.

The northern hemisphere of Mars and its poles can be seen in purple and red the climate is said to be warmer and brighter, which is indicated by orange and yellow. On the left part, where the sun is seen to be overhead, there is a sizable yellow area, and the Hellas basin is orange within the yellow, made by atmospheric phenomena.

The martian automosphere is seen with carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water signs have been found by Webb's detector.

The images from Webb show us the martian planet's wavelengths from place to place across the martian planet. Astronomers will analyse further the features of the spectrum to gain additional information about the surface and atmosphere of the red planet.

Published on: Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 11:45 AM IST

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