Neither Big Nor Small: What The Earliest Galaxies Looked Like - Indra's Webb

[Jundo]

With all our "BIG problems" in the world, it is worth pausing for a moment to note this BIG announcement today, the first of many to come:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail.

Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.

This deep field, taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is a composite made from images at different wavelengths, totaling 12.5 hours – achieving depths at infrared wavelengths beyond the Hubble Space Telescope’s deepest fields, which took weeks.

The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb’s NIRCam has brought those distant galaxies into sharp focus – they have tiny, faint structures that have never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features. Researchers will soon begin to learn more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions, as Webb seeks the earliest galaxies in the universe.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/g...f-universe-yet

HOWEVER, I remind my fellow Zennies that, in our Zen and Mahayana teachings, "BIG and small" are not necessarily what they first appear! To begin, when looking at the vastness of "SMACS 0723" you are looking at but yourself, as much as looking at your own finger tip (However, do not let that go to your head ... because SMACS 0723 is also every blade of grass, rusty nail, atom and dewdrop, stone and creature, everywhere on earth and everywhere in the rest of the universe too. But then again, every blade of grass and rusty nail is just you too, and you them, and each other.) In any case, it is not "BIG" while you are "small" because you are it, it is you, and each and every other thing too. SMACS 0723 is no bigger or smaller than you, for it is you.

Mathematicians will tell you that the center of the Big Bang is every place and everywhere (like every point on the surface of a sphere having equal claim to being the center of the sphere. SMACS 0723 sits at the center of the universe ... but so does every place and thing, so do you (not only when one sits Zazen!).

More on this:

BIG and small are relative. Yes, even a tiny grain of sand, properly placed, can cover and fully hide SMACS 0723. A grain of sand is vast when held close to the eye and, should we really seek to explore every nook and cranny of that one grain, slowly and probing ever deeper, it would take billions of years, infinite time in fact depending on our speed in doing so and care in going slow, really looking. A grain of sand is also its own galaxy of infinite features. In any case SMACS 0723 is just a small corner of the universe itself, tiny in comparison to the rest ... and yet it is also everything, and beyond measure, and at the center ... just as you are everything, and beyond measure, and at the center ... as is every grain of sand, as is all.

And if there in no "outside" the universe, it is impossible to hold a ruler to it ... thus no way to say if the whole universe is big or small, for nothing apart to compare. (Even if there is an ensemble of universes, it is just the same, for that ensemble is you too, and all things, and beyond measure or compare.)

In any case, we believe that it is all precious, and of equal worth, much like a great "jigsaw puzzle" of the cosmos in which all pieces ... no matter size or shape ... have their place, and even one would leave a gaping hole in the whole were it missed ... so the universe is not missing any part.

And each atom and part of an atom, galaxy or galaxy cluster and the whole thing is of infinite value = An ant is of infinite value, a star is of infinite value, a universe is of infinite value: And because infinite value = infinite value, who is to say what is more or less precious? You are sitting on a throne, you are a priceless jewel in the universe ... but everything is a priceless jewel, sitting on this universal throne with you, every atom and ant, black hole and the whole whole, reflected in the facets of all the other jewels of Indra's Net. Gazing up SMACS 0723, we see pearls and beads interlinked.

If you would like to hear more musing on our place in (as) the universe, give a listen here:

'The ZEN of EVERYTHING! Podcast' ... Ep. 77 ... The Universe
https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...7-The-Universe

So, breathe in, open your eyes, look ... all is this and this is all.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Bion]

Lovely! Can’t wait for the BIG REVEAL later today of the rest of the Webb pictures. we’ve never seen ourselves like that before , so it should be fun!!

Sat Today

[Jundo]

... we’ve never seen ourselves like that before ...

Now you are getting it!

Gassho, J

STLah

[Chikyou]

Gassho,
SatLah
Kelly

[Artien]

It's an exciting time. The more we learn, the less we know.

Gassho
Artien
SatToday

[Kotei]

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Mokuso]

[Heiso]

Amazing, thank you.

Gassho

Heiso
StLah

Sent from my RMX2001 using Tapatalk

[Bion]

Here’s the newly released images from that series taken by the Webb telescope. It is truly awe inspiring!




Sat Today

[Meian]

So beautiful! This may be my most favorite interest of all -- astrophotography and advancement in astrophysics.

My mother often said I was a "space cadet" -- she meant it a bit differently, though

(Live long and prosper)

Gassho2, meian stlh

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Bion]

So beautiful! This may be my most favorite interest of all -- astrophotography and advancement in astrophysics.

My mother often said I was a "space cadet" -- she meant it a bit differently, though

(Live long and prosper)

Gassho2, meian stlh

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I was truly overwhelmed



Sat Today

[Jundo]

Let me take the liberty of adding the official descriptions of the 3 photos posted by Bion ...

... (although, in our Zen way, if is also excellent just to look and see without thinking about what they may be ... )

TOP TO BOTTOM:

1 -

In an enormous new image, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals never-before-seen details of galaxy group “Stephan’s Quintet”
The close proximity of Stephan’s Quintet gives astronomers a ringside seat to galactic mergers, interactions
Webb’s new image shows in rare detail how interacting galaxies trigger star formation in each other and how gas in galaxies is being disturbed
The image also shows outflows driven by a black hole in Stephan’s Quintet in a level of detail never seen before
Tight galaxy groups like this may have been more common in the early universe when superheated, infalling material may have fueled very energetic black holes

... Webb shows never-before-seen details in this galaxy group. Sparkling clusters of millions of young stars and starburst regions of fresh star birth grace the image. Sweeping tails of gas, dust and stars are being pulled from several of the galaxies due to gravitational interactions. Most dramatically, Webb captures huge shock waves as one of the galaxies, NGC 7318B, smashes through the cluster.

Together, the five galaxies of Stephan’s Quintet are also known as the Hickson Compact Group 92 (HCG 92). Although called a “quintet,” only four of the galaxies are truly close together and caught up in a cosmic dance. The fifth and leftmost galaxy, called NGC 7320, is well in the foreground compared with the other four. NGC 7320 resides 40 million light-years from Earth, while the other four galaxies (NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, and NGC 7319) are about 290 million light-years away. This is still fairly close in cosmic terms, compared with more distant galaxies billions of light-years away. Studying such relatively nearby galaxies like these helps scientists better understand structures seen in a much more distant universe.

... Tight groups like this may have been more common in the early universe when their superheated, infalling material may have fueled very energetic black holes called quasars. Even today, the topmost galaxy in the group – NGC 7319 – harbors an active galactic nucleus, a supermassive black hole 24 million times the mass of the Sun. It is actively pulling in material and puts out light energy equivalent to 40 billion Suns.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/g...on-black-holes

2 -

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals emerging stellar nurseries and individual stars in the Carina Nebula that were previously obscured
Images of “Cosmic Cliffs” showcase Webb’s cameras’ capabilities to peer through cosmic dust, shedding new light on how stars form
Objects in the earliest, rapid phases of star formation are difficult to capture, but Webb’s extreme sensitivity, spatial resolution, and imaging capability can chronicle these elusive events

... Called the Cosmic Cliffs, Webb’s seemingly three-dimensional picture looks like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening. In reality, it is the edge of the giant, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, and the tallest “peaks” in this image are about 7 light-years high. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image.

The blistering, ultraviolet radiation from the young stars is sculpting the nebula’s wall by slowly eroding it away. Dramatic pillars tower above the glowing wall of gas, resisting this radiation. The “steam” that appears to rise from the celestial “mountains” is actually hot, ionized gas and hot dust streaming away from the nebula due to the relentless radiation.

Webb reveals emerging stellar nurseries and individual stars that are completely hidden in visible-light pictures. Because of Webb’s sensitivity to infrared light, it can peer through cosmic dust to see these objects. Protostellar jets, which emerge clearly in this image, shoot out from some of these young stars. The youngest sources appear as red dots in the dark, dusty region of the cloud. Objects in the earliest, rapid phases of star formation are difficult to capture, but Webb’s extreme sensitivity, spatial resolution, and imaging capability can chronicle these elusive events.

These observations of NGC 3324 will shed light on the process of star formation. Star birth propagates over time, triggered by the expansion of the eroding cavity. As the bright, ionized rim moves into the nebula, it slowly pushes into the gas and dust. If the rim encounters any unstable material, the increased pressure will trigger the material to collapse and form new stars.

Conversely, this type of disturbance may also prevent star formation as the star-making material is eroded away. This is a very delicate balance between sparking star formation and stopping it. Webb will address some of the great, open questions of modern astrophysics: What determines the number of stars that form in a certain region? Why do stars form with a certain mass?

... Located roughly 7,600 light-years away, NGC 3324 was imaged by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).

... In MIRI’s view, young stars and their dusty, planet-forming disks shine brightly in the mid-infrared, appearing pink and red. MIRI reveals structures that are embedded in the dust and uncovers the stellar sources of massive jets and outflows. With MIRI, the hot dust, hydrocarbons, and other chemical compounds on the surface of the ridges glow, giving the appearance of jagged rocks.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/g...-of-star-birth

3 -

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed details of the Southern Ring planetary nebula that were previously hidden from astronomers. Planetary nebulae are the shells of gas and dust ejected from dying stars.

Webb’s powerful infrared view brings this nebula’s second star into full view, along with exceptional structures created as the stars shape the gas and dust around them.

New details like these, from the late stages of a star’s life, will help us better understand how stars evolve and transform their environments.

These images also reveal a cache of distant galaxies in the background. Most of the multi-colored points of light seen here are galaxies – not stars.

... Each shell represents an episode where the fainter star lost some of its mass. The widest shells of gas toward the outer areas of the image were ejected earlier. Those closest to the star are the most recent. Tracing these ejections allows researchers to look into the history of the system.

... As the star ejects shells of material, dust and molecules form within them – changing the landscape even as the star continues to expel material. This dust will eventually enrich the areas around it, expanding into what’s known as the interstellar medium. And since it’s very long-lived, the dust may end up traveling through space for billions of years and become incorporated into a new star or planet.

In thousands of years, these delicate layers of gas and dust will dissipate into surrounding space.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/g...in-fine-detail

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Gassho, J

STLah

[Tairin]

Simply awesome!


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[michaelw]

A set of $10bn self portraits?
CSN were right 'we are star dust'

Gassho
M

[Artien]

A set of $10bn self portraits?
CSN were right 'we are star dust'

Gassho
M

That quote reminds me of a song I enjoy where scientists verify what we already know; we are the universe and the universe is us and we are all connected.




gassho

Artien
SatToday

[bayamo]

Wicked sweet image. I'm using it as the lock screen image on my smartyphone.
#sattoday


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[Jundo]

A set of $10bn self portraits?
CSN were right 'we are star dust'

Gassho
M

Well, perhaps much more than realizing that we are made of the same stuff, the same molecules, this is the realization that this is you and you are this that and the other thing in most intimate and profound sense, as much as the nose on you face and heart beating in your chest, and any neuron between your ears is you. It is just so.

Gassho, SMACS 0723
StLAH

[Jundo]

More amazing Webbalations!

There's water in them thar hills!

Webb Space Telescope Showcases Its Incredible Power: Detects Water on Distant Planet

In a remarkable dream come true for exoplaneteers, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has demonstrated its unprecedented capacity to analyze the atmosphere of an exoplanet more than 1,000 light-years away. With the combined forces of its 270-square-foot (25-square-meter) mirror, precision spectrographs, and sensitive detectors, Webb has – in a single observation – detected the unambiguous signature of water, indications of haze, and evidence for clouds that were thought not to exist based on prior observations.

... Over the past two decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has analyzed numerous exoplanet atmospheres , capturing the first clear detection of water in 2013. However, Webb’s immediate and more detailed observation marks an enormous leap forward in the quest to characterize potentially habitable planets beyond Earth.

https://scitechdaily.com/webb-space-...istant-planet/

Gassho, J

STLah

[Kaisho]

What's crazy to me is that jwst deployed perfectly with little errors. I was listening to a podcast with the project manager as a guest and he was saying that there were so many opportunities for it to go wrong. But it is operational and we have these pictures as a result.

Gassho
Stlah

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[Jundo]

What's crazy to me is that jwst deployed perfectly with little errors. I was listening to a podcast with the project manager as a guest and he was saying that there were so many opportunities for it to go wrong. But it is operational and we have these pictures as a result.

Gassho
Stlah

There is a great little film about that which I posted in our "Technology and Robots" thread awhile back, of just the heat shield test on the ground, only one step in the process. I sent it to my son, the future engineer, to inspire him.

"Unfolding Webb's sunshield in space is an incredible milestone, crucial to the success of the mission," said Gregory L. Robinson, Webb's program director at NASA Headquarters, in a statement. "Thousands of parts had to work with precision for this marvel of engineering to fully unfurl. The team has accomplished an audacious feat with the complexity of this deployment -- one of the boldest undertakings yet for Webb."

The massive five-layer sunshield will protect Webb's giant mirror and instruments from the sun's heat. Both the mirror and instruments need to be kept at a very frigid negative 370 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 188 degrees Celsius) to be able to observe the universe as designed. Each of the five sheets is as thin as a human hair and is coated with reflective metal.


When Webb launched, the sunshield was folded up to fit inside the Ariane 5 rocket that carried the telescope into space. The eight-day process to unfold and tighten the protective shield began on December 28. This included unfolding the support structure for the shield over the course of multiple days before the tensioning, or tightening, of each layer could begin.

Gassho, J

STLah