• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

James Webb space telescope (JWST) launch scheduled for 24th of December.

Will JWST successfully deploy in space?

  • Yes. Good chance it goes well.

    Votes: 123 74.1%
  • No. I think something will fail. (no way to fix)

    Votes: 11 6.6%
  • Shepard.

    Votes: 32 19.3%

  • Total voters
    166
  • Poll closed .

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Personally I'm more interested in actually learning new things than just getting pretty images.
Is there any indication that there will be some new data being revealed on Tuesday? Or is it just going to be prettier Hubble pictures?

There will be data provided with the images. NASA wouldn't just release a picture without the data.
 
Personally I'm more interested in actually learning new things than just getting pretty images.
Is there any indication that there will be some new data being revealed on Tuesday? Or is it just going to be prettier Hubble pictures?

You definitely should not expect prettier. Or even more detailed.

Unless they are doing false color images, you should expect to see a lot of blackand white. Or black and red.

Hubble was setup for the visible light spectrum. JWST is not. We are NOT just gonna get better pictures of what we already seen with Hubble. Infact JWST cannot.

What we hope to see are things we have NEVER seen before. Things Hubble could not possibly see because they are shifted so far in to red they would be invisible to Hubble

I suspect what they will actually show on July 12 will be some kind of JWST +Hubble composite. So the parts in color will be what we already saw from Hubble. And then they will overlay something from JWST to show the parts Hubble could not see. Because just JWST by itself might be too boring for the average layperson.


But the important thing in keeping your expectations in check is knowing that the JWST pictures by themselves will probably be monochrome. And not sharper than Hubble. They cannot be sharper because the formula for angular resolution for a telescope is wavelength / diameter.

The wavelength of the IR light JWST is set up for is greater than 10x that what Hubble could see. And JWST is not 10x bigger in aperture/diameter than Hubble. The aperture only increased from 2.4m vs 6.5m

So best case, we will see some really cool pics we have never seen before. Just don't expect shaper or prettier.
 

Sakura

Member
There will be data provided with the images. NASA wouldn't just release a picture without the data.
Well of course there will be data, but what I mean is new data, as in stuff we don't already know. I'm kind of hoping that the JWST would provide new revelations that change or vastly improve our understanding of the universe and our galaxy.
You definitely should not expect prettier. Or even more detailed.

Unless they are doing false color images, you should expect to see a lot of blackand white. Or black and red.

Hubble was setup for the visible light spectrum. JWST is not. We are NOT just gonna get better pictures of what we already seen with Hubble. Infact JWST cannot.

What we hope to see are things we have NEVER seen before. Things Hubble could not possibly see because they are shifted so far in to red they would be invisible to Hubble

I suspect what they will actually show on July 12 will be some kind of JWST +Hubble composite. So the parts in color will be what we already saw from Hubble. And then they will overlay something from JWST to show the parts Hubble could not see. Because just JWST by itself might be too boring for the average layperson.


But the important thing in keeping your expectations in check is knowing that the JWST pictures by themselves will probably be monochrome. And not sharper than Hubble. They cannot be sharper because the formula for angular resolution for a telescope is wavelength / diameter.

The wavelength of the IR light JWST is set up for is greater than 10x that what Hubble could see. And JWST is not 10x bigger in aperture/diameter than Hubble. The aperture only increased from 2.4m vs 6.5m

So best case, we will see some really cool pics we have never seen before. Just don't expect shaper or prettier.
Why would the JWST pictures by themselves be monochrome? I understand that it is for seeing infrared light, but NASA says it still can see some visible light as well (red and yellow part of visible spectrum).
When I say prettier I don't mean sharper, but more that it can see things that the Hubble cannot. ie a JWST image may add a bunch of stars that were hiding from a Hubble image because of the wavelength, resulting in a "prettier" picture.
 
Well of course there will be data, but what I mean is new data, as in stuff we don't already know. I'm kind of hoping that the JWST would provide new revelations that change or vastly improve our understanding of the universe and our galaxy.

Why would the JWST pictures by themselves be monochrome? I understand that it is for seeing infrared light, but NASA says it still can see some visible light as well (red and yellow part of visible spectrum).
When I say prettier I don't mean sharper, but more that it can see things that the Hubble cannot. ie a JWST image may add a bunch of stars that were hiding from a Hubble image because of the wavelength, resulting in a "prettier" picture.

Hubble's best images are arguably the Ultra deep field images. Linked below. This is the best pictures we have of what the deepest and oldest parts of space look like. But even with Hubble they took monochome images at 4 separate near IR wave lengths then did a false color composite for the final image.

The Ultra Deep Field image was taken by a sensor calibrated to between 1.0 to 1.6 µm wave lengths of light. So actually very near infra red. Definitely not in visible color spectrum like we would see with our eyes, but still relatively close to what our eye could normally see as "red".

The JWST is calibrated to 0.6–28.5 µm which is basically the very edge of visible light red into the far Infra Red. But not only that, the mirrors that they used plated with gold are poor at reflecting visible light. They are engineered specifically to reflect in the IR range.

Anyway long story short we probably either get some kind of composite false color images on Tuesday. Or just plain monochrome is possible too if they just want to highlight a specific spectrum.

HDF components:
300px-Galaxy_in_each_of_the_four_wavelengths_comprising_the_HDF.jpg




Hubble Ultra Deep Field final image.
STSCI-H-p1427a-2300x2100.jpg
 
Last edited:

Pagusas

Elden Member
Hubble's best images are arguably the Ultra deep field images. Linked below. This is the best pictures we have of what the deepest and oldest parts of space look like. But even with Hubble they took monochome images at 4 separate near IR wave lengths then did a false color composite for the final image.

The Ultra Deep Field image was taken by a sensor calibrated to between 1.0 to 1.6 µm wave lengths of light. So actually very near infra red. Definitely not in visible color spectrum like we would see with our eyes, but still relatively close to what our eye could normally see as "red".

The JWST is calibrated to 0.6–28.5 µm which is basically the very edge of visible light red into the far Infra Red. But not only that, the mirrors that they used plated with gold are poor at reflecting visible light. They are engineered specifically to reflect in the IR range.

Anyway long story short we probably either get some kind of composite false color images on Tuesday. Or just plain monochrome is possible too if they just want to highlight a specific spectrum.

HDF components:
300px-Galaxy_in_each_of_the_four_wavelengths_comprising_the_HDF.jpg




Hubble Ultra Deep Field final image.
STSCI-H-p1427a-2300x2100.jpg
God even just looking at that fills me with wonder and awe.
 

Kev Kev

Member
man im stoked to see these images!

real talk tho, how hard will this get trolled for being "underwhelming"?

im expecting a pretty heavy blowback from people trolling and shit posting around the internet, calling it a bunch of meaningless images that dont even look that good, calling the jwst a giant waste of money and blah blah blah. smh.

i hope the images are so stunning that even the trolls will be like...
i-had-no-idea-text-o.gif
 

MastaKiiLA

Member
The mind melts at the thought that JWST has the potential for every image to be deeper than the Hubble deep field image. 🤤

I think the thing I'm most interested in learning, other than seeing the first stars, is seeing what's in the zone of avoidance. Specifically, what comprises the Great Attractor. No doubt it's a supercluster of galaxies, but it's gotta be massive regardless.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Well of course there will be data, but what I mean is new data, as in stuff we don't already know. I'm kind of hoping that the JWST would provide new revelations that change or vastly improve our understanding of the universe and our galaxy.

Why would the JWST pictures by themselves be monochrome? I understand that it is for seeing infrared light, but NASA says it still can see some visible light as well (red and yellow part of visible spectrum).
When I say prettier I don't mean sharper, but more that it can see things that the Hubble cannot. ie a JWST image may add a bunch of stars that were hiding from a Hubble image because of the wavelength, resulting in a "prettier" picture.

Yes. There will be new data. The purpose of the telescope is to do exactly what you're asking for. For example, it'll be able to study star formation and evolution of galaxies. it's going to answer a lot of questions and give us a better understanding of the universe.
 

MastaKiiLA

Member

greyshark

Member
I’m expecting false color images tomorrow. They get so much PR benefit out of them, it would be silly not to.

As for clarity, here’s one of the test images from Webb (as compared to Spitzer):

gBVGHUM.jpg
 
Last edited:

FunkMiller

Member
man im stoked to see these images!

real talk tho, how hard will this get trolled for being "underwhelming"?

im expecting a pretty heavy blowback from people trolling and shit posting around the internet, calling it a bunch of meaningless images that dont even look that good, calling the jwst a giant waste of money and blah blah blah. smh.

i hope the images are so stunning that even the trolls will be like...
i-had-no-idea-text-o.gif

I very much doubt they're going to be underwhelming if the context is clearly explained and understood. NASA knows damn well it has to fight for every penny and bit of attention it can in a world full on inconsequential shit, so my guess is they'll ensure the reveal is suitably newsworthy.

The fact Biden is doing the first reveal today rather indicates they are liking what they are getting...
 
Last edited:

MastaKiiLA

Member
I’m expecting false color images tomorrow. They get so much PR benefit out of them, it would be silly not to.
I prefer false color images anyway. For composite shots, it makes it easier to see which parts of the image were captured in different wavelengths. For these IR shots, it has the potential to show us what the objects might look like if they were closer and not so red-shifted. I guess part of it is that I grew up with false color images. Monochrome images just don't look right to me.
 

Sakura

Member
Hubble's best images are arguably the Ultra deep field images. Linked below. This is the best pictures we have of what the deepest and oldest parts of space look like. But even with Hubble they took monochome images at 4 separate near IR wave lengths then did a false color composite for the final image.

The Ultra Deep Field image was taken by a sensor calibrated to between 1.0 to 1.6 µm wave lengths of light. So actually very near infra red. Definitely not in visible color spectrum like we would see with our eyes, but still relatively close to what our eye could normally see as "red".

The JWST is calibrated to 0.6–28.5 µm which is basically the very edge of visible light red into the far Infra Red. But not only that, the mirrors that they used plated with gold are poor at reflecting visible light. They are engineered specifically to reflect in the IR range.

Anyway long story short we probably either get some kind of composite false color images on Tuesday. Or just plain monochrome is possible too if they just want to highlight a specific spectrum.

HDF components:
300px-Galaxy_in_each_of_the_four_wavelengths_comprising_the_HDF.jpg




Hubble Ultra Deep Field final image.
STSCI-H-p1427a-2300x2100.jpg
So that I understand, the monochrome part is that way because we can't see infrared right?
And when they do false colour images, the colours aren't actually what it looks like because we don't know, but are just arbitrarily assigned to make understanding the image better?
 

Kev Kev

Member
I very much doubt they're going to be underwhelming
im not saying they are going to be underhwelming, im syaing people are going to find a way to hate on it and ask why tf we spent 10B on a bunch of pictures

and i hope they are so stunning that those haters cant even get away with that
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
I hope his teleprompter does a good job!

Can't wait for "Enter stage left", "wait for applause", and "Turn to NASA director" to finally get the recognition they deserve :p
 

FunkMiller

Member
im not saying they are going to be underhwelming, im syaing people are going to find a way to hate on it and ask why tf we spent 10B on a bunch of pictures

and i hope they are so stunning that those haters cant even get away with that

Oh, I’m sure there would be some cunts on social media claiming it was underwhelming if it got a photo of two aliens fucking over a barrel.
 

Talonz

Member
The picture reaffirms my belief that there is Extraterrestrial intelligence out there, but it's so far away we'll never know.
 

01011001

Banned
The picture reaffirms my belief that there is Extraterrestrial intelligence out there, but it's so far away we'll never know.

yeah. kinda sad... but that's the most realistic prediction. especially due to the expansion of the universe, which will make everything drift apart more and more.

there will literally be a point in our galaxy (which by then will have fused with Andromeda) where any living being (if there will still be living beings by that time) will not be able to see other galaxies and it will be impossible for them to ever know about the big bang, about other galaxies and about the nature of the universe they live in, because everything will be red-shifted so far that it will be undetectable that anything else but our galaxy exists
 
yeah. kinda sad... but that's the most realistic prediction. especially due to the expansion of the universe, which will make everything drift apart more and more.

there will literally be a point in our galaxy (which by then will have fused with Andromeda) where any living being (if there will still be living beings by that time) will not be able to see other galaxies and it will be impossible for them to ever know about the big bang, about other galaxies and about the nature of the universe they live in, because everything will be red-shifted so far that it will be undetectable that anything else but our galaxy exists
Untrue, if there are still people on this planet the knowledge should've been passed down to future generations.

edit: nvm I read up on what you said and all life will be dead by then on this planet.
 
Last edited:

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Honest to fucking god, lads. If I was part of a presentation this fucking dreadful, for something so important, I’d expect to get fired.

Agreed. It's been embarrassing. From multiple technical glitches to cringe, fake presenting. I've had enough. I'll check out the rest of the data in my own time.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
The picture reaffirms my belief that there is Extraterrestrial intelligence out there, but it's so far away we'll never know.

Possibly.

Breakthrough Starshot should launch in our lifetimes and bring back images and data from the Alpha Centauri system. Possibly life in that system, but who knows if it's intelligent.

I guess you're referring to true, human interstellar travel, Star Trek style. We're a long, long way from that, but it's not impossible. To be honest, this is probably doable technology in our lifetimes, but only with some huge changes to our society. Otherwise, it'll be hundreds of years.

Either way, we'll explore the galaxy one day. It's just a question of when.
 

Kenpachii

Member
Problem with those presentations are, they are completely focused on the people that work at it and really like a ton about it. For people randomly watching that just want to see some pictures its a endless cringe fest of bloated garbage that's just offputting.

They need to redo there livestream next time around. It's rough to watch and frankly i won't be watching the next one.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Either way, we'll explore the galaxy one day. It's just a question of when.

I’m not convinced humanity will even get past the heliopause with manned space flight, let alone out into the actual galaxy. Partly due to the massive potential energy requirements and cost, partly due to the fact we’ll probably blow ourselves up before then.
 
Top Bottom