The James Webb Space Telescope captures the planet Mars in its first images. Recognize their purpose

    

    The James Webb Space Telescope, the most potent telescope in existence, began taking its first pictures and spectra of Mars on September 5, giving everyone new information on the Red Planet.

    The Huygens Crater rings, Syrtis Major's dark volcanic rock, the Hellas Basin, and other characteristics including craters and dust layers may all be seen in Webb's initial photographs of Mars. Mars' surface rocks, ice clouds, and dust are all described in detail by Webb's spectrum of Mars. ( Source: NASA ).

The James Webb Space Telescope by NASA spares no effort to astound the globe. NASA has been releasing amazing images of the universe that were captured by the JWST, also known as Webb, since July 2022. The first photos and spectra of Mars were taken by Webb, the most powerful telescope in the world, on September 5. This gave everyone new information on the Red Planet. The Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, a special observation site located over a million kilometres from Mars, is Webb's residence.

 

The observatory can take photos and spectra with the spectral precision required to investigate short-term events like dust storms, seasonal shifts, and weather patterns thanks to the post, which gives Webb a view of Mars' viewable disc, which is the region of the light side facing the telescope. According to NASA's website, scientists can analyse the processes that take place at various times during a Martian day using Webb's photos.

 

    What Difficulties Does Webb Face With Mars?

            In terms of both the infrared light that Webb intended to detect as well as the visible light that can be seen by human eyes, Mars is one of the brightest things in the night sky. The Red Planet is a bright object in terms of infrared radiation, which presents specific challenges to Webb because the observatory is made to detect the incredibly faint light of the universe's most remote galaxies.

Without proper observing procedures, the strong infrared light from Mars is dazzling due to the sensitive equipment in the telescope. This leads to "detector saturation," a phenomenon.

In order to compensate for the Red Planet's tremendous brightness, astronomers utilised very brief exposures, assessed only a portion of the light that reached the equipment's detectors, and used data analysis techniques.

 

    What does the first Mars photo taken by Webb mean?

The first image of Mars to be taken by the telescope was by Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). The image displays a portion of the eastern hemisphere of the Red Planet at two distinct infrared light wavelengths or colours.

 

A NIRCam image in the upper right shows sunlight reflecting off of Mars with a brightness of 2.1 microns, highlighting features like craters and dust layers. A second NIRCam image that was taken concurrently with the first one at the bottom right displays emitting light with a brightness of 4.3 microns.

A NASA surface reference map and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) are shown on the left of a Webb image of Mars. Webb's near-infrared photographs are seen on the right side. A NIRCam image in the upper right shows sunlight reflecting off of Mars with a brightness of 2.1 microns, highlighting features like craters and dust layers.

A second NIRCam image that was taken concurrently with the first one at the bottom right displays emitting light with a brightness of 4.3 microns. The graphic shows temperature variations due to latitude and day of the week as well as the atmospheric factors that darken Hellas Basin. The bright yellow area shown in the photograph is only slightly beyond the detector's saturation threshold.

 

As a result, the NIRCam's 2.1-micron shorter-wavelength image is dominated by reflected sunlight. The view shows the Hellas Basin, Syrtis Major's dark volcanic rock, and the rings of the Huygens Crater.

 

Thermal emission, or the light emitted by a planet as it loses heat, is depicted in the NIRCam image at a longer wavelength (4.3 microns), which can be seen in the lower right corner of the image. Surface and atmospheric temperatures are correlated with the brightness of 4.3-micron light. On a planet, the area closest to the Sun's overhead position is typically the warmest and brightest.

 

The brightness diminishes nearer the poles because they receive less sunshine and because the chilly northern hemisphere emits less light. At this time of year, winter is upon the northern hemisphere of Mars.

     Why Does Hellas Basin Seem Darker Than the Environment Around It?

According to NASA's website, the temperature is not the only issue affecting the quantity of 4.3-micron light that reaches Webb's NIRCam. Carbon dioxide molecules in the Martian atmosphere observe some of the light released by the Red Planet. The Hellas Basin, which covers more than 1,900 kilometres and is the most well-preserved impact structure on Mars, appears darker as a result.

 

This is not a thermal effect at Hellas Basin, according to Geronimo Villanueva, the main investigator who designed these Webb observations, in a statement issued by NASA. He noted that the Hellas Basin has higher air pressure since it is a structure at a lower altitude.

Due to a phenomenon known as pressure widening, the higher pressure suppresses thermal emission at wavelengths between 4.1 and 4.4 microns, according to Villanueva.

 

    What Does the First Mars Spectrum from Webb Show?

The astronomer and his group also made available Webb's initial Mars near-infrared spectra. This illustrates the telescope's capability to investigate Mars using spectroscopy, the study of how light and other types of radiation are absorbed and emitted by materials.

The modest brightness fluctuations across hundreds of various wavelengths that are indicative of the planet as a whole are visible in Webb's spectrum of Mars. Astronomers will examine the characteristics of the spectrum to learn more about Mars's surface and atmosphere.

The early study of the spectrum yields a wealth of spectral signatures that reveal details about dust, icy clouds, the types of rocks on Mars's surface, and the makeup of the atmosphere.

By integrating equipment from each of Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph's six high-resolution spectroscopic modes, the infrared spectrum of Mars was acquired (NIRSpec). The early study of the spectrum yields a wealth of spectral signatures that reveal details about dust, icy clouds, the types of rocks on Mars's surface, and the makeup of the atmosphere.

 

Absorption features are spectral characteristics represented by the deep dips in the spectrum. Water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide all have distinct spectral fingerprints that Webb has no trouble identifying.

 

The astronomers are analysing the spectrum information obtained from these observations and putting the finishing touches on a report that will be submitted to a scholarly journal for publication and peer review.

 

The team plans to investigate regional variations across the Red Planet and look for signs of gas in the Martian atmosphere, such as methane and hydrogen chloride, using the imaging and spectroscopic data.