- 3905 - JAMES WEBB - some first observations? James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) sees the same supernova three times in an epic gravitational lens. Every image it beams back to Earth is amazing. A recent observation depicting not one, not two, but three images of the same galaxy, on (February 28, 2023).
------------ 3905 - JAMES WEBB - some first observations?
- How can
JWST observe three images of the same object at once? This is done thanks to a
phenomenon known as “gravitational lensing”, which happens when light is bent
or warped around a massive celestial object that emits an enormous amount of
gravity.
-
- The
triple-imaged object is a supernova-hosting galaxy whose light is being distorted
and bent by the massive galaxy cluster which is located approximately 3.2
billion light years from Earth. Astronomers have determined the three separate
images are all different ages and characteristics given the varying varying
distances that light had to travel in each one.
-
- The oldest
image containing the astronomical transient,a supernova candidate, has been
determined to be a Type Ia supernova and is identified by the two parallel
lines on either side of it.
-
- This is
followed by an image as the distant galaxy appears 320 later, and the third
image is how it appeared 1,000 days. Both images occurring 320 and 1,000 days
after the first image show the supernova completely gone from view.
-
- The almost
uniform luminosity of a Type Ia supernova could also allow astronomers to
understand how strongly the galaxy cluster RX J2129 is magnifying background
objects, and therefore how massive the galaxy cluster is.
-
- As well as
distorting the images of background objects, gravitational lenses can cause
distant objects to appear much brighter than they would otherwise. If the
gravitational lens magnifies something with a known brightness, such as a Type
Ia supernova, then astronomers can use this to measure the ‘prescription’ of
the gravitational lens.
-
-
Gravitational lensing is when the gravitational field of a massive
celestial object causes background light to appear bent or warped when it comes
into view, meaning the celestial object acts a sort of celestial lens so astronomers
can view other objects behind it. In this case, a supernova-hosting galaxy
whose light has been not only bent but split three times as its light traveled
through the “lens” of RX J2129.
-
-
Gravitational lensing is one of the most historic predictions of Albert
Einstein’s theory of general relativity, and was first discovered in 1979 when
two quasars were observed to be in close proximity to each other, but turned
out to be the same object whose light had been split in two, similar to what RX
J2129 did to the distant galaxy in the recent JWST observation.
-
- While
gravitational lensing is used to observe large objects like supernovae, a
method known as gravitational microlensing is equally used to find exoplanets.
-
- How many
more supernovae will JWST observe, and what else will we learn about
gravitational lensing in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell,
stay tuned. You live in interesdting
times.
-
March 6, 2023 JAMES
WEBB - some first observations? 3905
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Comments appreciated and Pass it on to
whomever is interested. ---
--- Some reviews are at: -------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
-- email feedback, corrections, request for
copies or Index of all reviews
--- to:
------
jamesdetrick@comcast.net ------ “Jim Detrick”
-----------
---------------------
--- Monday, March 6, 2023
---------------------------
-
No comments:
Post a Comment