James Webb Space Telescope team photographed two images of Jupiter during tests; See here

While the world is busy marvelling over the flurry of images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, a fascinating picture of the gas giant Jupiter has also made it to the headlines. While this image is not as complete as the rest of the images released by NASA, it shows Jupiter and its Moons in a new light. According to multiple media reports, Jupiter was photographed during Webb's commissioning phase wherein the mission teams were testing if the telescope's NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) can track moving objects. 

(Jupiter and its Moons observed by Webb; Image: NASA/ESA/CSA)

In the picture above, Jupiter was observed in two different wavelengths; the left one being a short-wavelength image and the right one being a long-wavelength image. Notably, Jupiter's band can be seen much more clearly in the picture on the left along with its highlighted 'great red spot' and the shadow of Europa next to it. According to the commissioning documents, the images, also featuring Jupiter's moons Europa, Thebe, and Metis were taken with a 75-second exposure. 

A report by New Scientist revealed that Jupiter was the most spectacular of the planetary targets observed by Webb during the tests. These tests also demonstrated Webb's better-than-expected capabilities of tracking objects that are moving and reflecting a huge amount of light into the camera. Interestingly, Webb has exceeded the expectations of the mission teams with its tracking capabilities, something which would help scientists study other moving objects such as comets, near-Earth asteroids and even planets beyond our solar system among other interstellar objects.

James Webb Telescope begins operations

With the release of its first infrared images of the universe, Webb has begun its operations after being launched on December 25 last year. The telescope completed a month-long journey before arriving at its destination-- the second Lagrange point (L2)-- a gravitationally stable location 15 lakh kilometres away from our planet. Meant to last 10 years, the mission teams have confirmed that due to fuel efficiency gained at L2, Webb could last as long as 20 years.  here to read more about the telescope and its journey.

Image: AP, Shutterstock