Thursday, July 21, 2022

SMACS 0723 (Webb’s First Deep Field)

SMACS 0723 (Webb’s First Deep Field) - The background of space is black. Thousands of galaxies appear all across the view. Their shapes and colors vary. Some are various shades of orange, others are white. Most stars appear blue, and are sometimes as large as more distant galaxies that appear next to them. A very bright star is just above and left of center. It has eight bright blue, long diffraction spikes. Between 4 o’clock and 6 o’clock in its spikes are several very bright galaxies. A group of three are in the middle, and two are closer to 4 o’clock. These galaxies are part of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, and they are warping the appearances of galaxies seen around them. Long orange arcs appear at left and right toward the center.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

Just a reminder that the Hubble image of the first JWST field was a relatively short exposure - as is the JWST image! The best that Hubble has done is almost as beautiful as the JWST image. And the best that JWST can do is still to come! -- Pieter van Dokkum