![]() ![]() The sizes and positions of the images shown here depict the relative arrangement of each of Webb’s instruments in the telescope’s focal plane, each pointing at a slightly offset part of the sky relative to one another. For this test, Webb pointed at part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, providing a dense field of hundreds of thousands of stars across all the observatory’s sensors. We are surrounded by a symphony of creation there are galaxies everywhere! It is my hope that everyone in the world can see them.” Engineering images of sharply focused stars in the field of view of each instrument demonstrate that the telescope is fully aligned and in focus. “These images have profoundly changed the way I see the universe. “With the completion of telescope alignment and half a lifetime’s worth of effort, my role on the James Webb Space Telescope mission has come to an end,” said Scott Acton, Webb wavefront sensing and controls scientist, Ball Aerospace. From this point forward the only changes to the mirrors will be very small, periodic adjustments to the primary mirror segments. The image quality delivered to all instruments is “diffraction-limited,” meaning that the fineness of detail that can be seen is as good as physically possible given the size of the telescope. Webb’s mirrors are now directing fully focused light collected from space down into each instrument, and each instrument is successfully capturing images with the light being delivered to them. The optical performance of the telescope continues to be better than the engineering team’s most optimistic predictions. “These remarkable test images from a successfully aligned telescope demonstrate what people across countries and continents can achieve when there is a bold scientific vision to explore the universe,” said Lee Feinberg, Webb optical telescope element manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The alignment of the telescope across all of Webb’s instruments can be seen in a series of images that captures the observatory’s full field of view. This process will take about two months before scientific operations begin in the summer. Upon completing the seventh and final stage of telescope alignment, the team held a set of key decision meetings and unanimously agreed that Webb is ready to move forward into its next and final series of preparations, known as science instrument commissioning. ![]() After full review, the observatory has been confirmed to be capable of capturing crisp, well-focused images with each of its four powerful onboard science instruments. Alignment of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now complete. ![]()
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