Explore deep space with Corning and the James Webb Space Telescope
Corning Advanced Optics technologies are playing a vital role in capturing the images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, orbiting 1 million miles away from Earth.
JWST captures images of the Cosmic Cliffs, a star forming region about 7,600 light years away.
The first high-resolution color images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most complex space telescope ever built, have arrived. Corning Advanced Optics technologies played a vital role in bringing us the deepest look into space yet.
This image of Stephan’s Quintet contains more than 150 million pixels and is made up of close to 1,000 different images.
JWST’s Fine Guidance Sensor and the Near Infrared Imager contain image capture technologies that were engineered and manufactured at Corning’s Keene, New Hampshire, facility. These essential optical instruments help point and stabilize the telescope platform for data collection, helping enable astronomers to determine the age and chemical mixture of distant objects.
Two cameras aboard Webb captured the latest image of this planetary nebula approximately 2,500 light years away. Researchers now have a closer look at the molecules that make up nebulae, which are clouds of gas and dust expelled by dying stars.
Building on the work of the Hubble Space Telescope, the JWST captures images of distant galaxies, stars, and exoplanets in deep space. But unlike Hubble, which orbits the Earth, JWST orbits the sun, 1 million miles away. Additionally, while the Hubble sees primarily visible light, the JWST is optimized for infrared light. This helps scientists and researchers “unfold the infrared universe,” learning more about the origin of the universe, its evolution, and every phase of 13.6 billion years’ worth of cosmic history – including where we fit into it.
This image, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, shows faint structures in extremely distant galaxies. Corning technology helped produce this sharp, near-infrared image, which offers the most detailed view of the early universe to date
This milestone builds on Corning’s rich history of optical physics which has been invaluable to space exploration and discovery since the 1930s.
Image credits: NASA.
