The James Webb Space Telescope of NASA closed in on Mars for the first time, taking images and spectra of the Red Planet earlier this month.
The powerful telescope adds to the wealth of Martian data obtained by orbiters, rovers, and other telescopes by offering a distinctive perspective through its infrared sensitivity.
Views of Mars' visible disc are available from Webb's dedicated observation station at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2), which is the region of the sunlit side facing the telescope.
According to NASA, Webb will be able to capture images and spectra with the spectral resolution necessary to study transient phenomena like weather patterns, seasonal variations, and dust storms that occur on Mars.
Webb’s first images of Mars, captured by its NIRCam instrument Sept. 5, 2022 [Guaranteed Time Observation Program 1415]. Left: Reference map of the observed hemisphere of Mars from NASA and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Top right: NIRCam image showing 2.1-micron (F212 filter) reflected sunlight, revealing surface features such as craters and dust layers. Bottom right: Simultaneous NIRCam image showing ~4.3-micron (F430M filter) emitted light that reveals temperature differences with latitude and time of day, as well as darkening of the Hellas Basin caused by atmospheric effects. The bright yellow area is just at the saturation limit of the detector.
The Bright, Red Planet Captured
The infrared light that Webb is equipped with detects visible light that human eyes can see. The Red Planet is among the brightest objects in the night sky.
The observatory has particular challenges since it was built to detect the exceedingly weak light coming from the universe's farthest-off galaxies.
However, NASA (per Science Alert) claims that scientists could compensate for Mars' unusual brightness by utilizing very short exposure times, only detecting a part of the light that reached the detectors and using specialist data analysis techniques.
The Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) reveals a region of the planet's eastern hemisphere in two distinct infrared light wavelengths or hues on Webb's initial images of Mars.
Webb’s first near-infrared spectrum of Mars, captured by the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) Sept. 5, 2022, as part of the Guaranteed Time Observation Program 1415, over 3 slit gratings (G140H, G235H, G395H). The spectrum is dominated by reflected sunlight at wavelengths shorter than 3 microns and thermal emission at longer wavelengths. Preliminary analysis reveals the spectral dips appear at specific wavelengths where light is absorbed by molecules in Mars’ atmosphere, specifically carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water. Other details reveal information about dust, clouds, and surface features. By constructing a best-fit model of the spectrum, by the using, for example, the Planetary Spectrum Generator, abundances of given molecules in the atmosphere can be derived.
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JWST's Spectroscopy
The Webb team's release of the first near-infrared spectrum of Mars added to the evidence that the newly constructed telescope can be used to conduct spectroscopic research on the Red Planet, Space.com said.
As opposed to images, which show differences in brightness incorporated over several wavelengths from place to place across the planet on a specific day and time, the spectrum shows the subtle variations in brightness between hundreds of different wavelengths that represent the planet as a whole, according to NASA.
To find out more about the surface and atmosphere of the Red Planet, astronomers will examine the characteristics of the spectrum.
Numerous spectral characteristics that disclose information about the atmosphere, frozen clouds, different types of rocks on the planet's surface, and dust are found in the results of a first-spectrum examination.
According to NASA, the Mars crew would subsequently study regional differences on the planet and seek trace gases like methane and hydrogen chloride that may be present in the atmosphere using these photos and spectroscopic data.
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