Webb Telescope: What Will Scientists Learn?

James Webb telescope Jonathan WALTER AFP
James Webb telescope Jonathan WALTER AFP
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Webb Telescope: What Will Scientists Learn?

James Webb telescope Jonathan WALTER AFP
James Webb telescope Jonathan WALTER AFP

The James Webb Space Telescope's first images aren't just breathtaking -- they contain a wealth of scientific insights and clues that researchers are eager to pursue.

Here are some of the things scientists now hope to learn, AFP said.

- Into the deep -
Webb's first image, released Monday, delivered the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far, "Webb's First Deep Field."

The white circles and ellipses are from the galaxy cluster in the foreground called SMACS 0723, as it appeared more than 4.6 billion years ago -- roughly when our Sun formed too.

The reddish arcs are from light from ancient galaxies that has traveled more than 13 billion years, bending around the foreground cluster, which acts as a gravitational lens.

NASA astrophysicist Amber Straughn said she was struck by "the astounding detail that you can see in some of these galaxies."

"They just pop out! There is so much more detail, it's like seeing in high-def."

Plus, added NASA astrophysicist Jane Rigby, the image can teach us more about mysterious dark matter, which is thought to comprise 85 percent of matter in the universe -- and is the main cause of the cosmic magnifying effect.

The composite image, which required a 12.5 hour exposure time, is considered a practice run. Given longer exposure time, Webb should break all-time distance records by gazing back to the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago.

- The hunt for habitable planets -
Webb captured the signature of water, along with previously undetected evidence of clouds and haze, in the atmosphere surrounding a hot, puffy gas giant planet called WASP-96 b that orbits a distant star like our Sun.

The telescope achieved this by analyzing starlight filtered through the planet's atmosphere as it moves across the star, to the unfiltered starlight detected when the planet is beside the star -- a technique called spectroscopy that no other instrument can do at the same detail.

WASP-96 b is one of more than 5,000 confirmed exoplanets in the Milky Way. But what really excites astronomers is the prospect of pointing Webb at smaller, rocky worlds, like our own Earth, to search for atmospheres and bodies of liquid water that could support life.

- Death of a star -
Webb's cameras captured a stellar graveyard, in the Southern Ring Nebula, revealing the dim, dying star at its center in clear detail for the first time, and showing that it is cloaked in dust.

Astronomers will use Webb to delve deeper into specifics about "planetary nebulae" like these, which spew out clouds of gas and dust.

These nebulae will eventually also lead to rebirth.

The gas and cloud ejection stops after some tens of thousands of years, and once the material is scattered in space, new stars can form.

- A cosmic dance -
Stephan's Quintet, a grouping of five galaxies, is located in the constellation Pegasus.

Webb was able to pierce through the clouds of dust and gas at the center of the galaxy to glean new insights, such as the velocity and composition of outflows of gas near its supermassive black hole.

Four of the galaxies are close together and locked in a "cosmic dance" of repeated close encounters.

By studying it, "you learn how the galaxies collide and merge," said cosmologist John Mather, adding our own Milky Way was probably assembled out of 1,000 smaller galaxies.

Understanding the black hole better will also give us greater insights into Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, which is shrouded in dust.

- Stellar nursey -
Perhaps the most beautiful image is that of the "Cosmic Cliffs" from the Carina Nebula, a stellar nursery.

Here, for the first time, Webb has revealed previously invisible regions of star formation, which will tell us more about why stars form with certain mass, and what determines the number that form in a certain region.

They may look like mountains, but the tallest of the craggy peaks are seven light years high, and the yellow structures are made from huge hydrocarbon molecules, said Webb project scientist Klaus Pontoppidan.

In addition to being the stuff of stars, nebular material could also be where we come from.

"This may be the way that the universe is transporting carbon, the carbon that we're made of, to planets that may be habitable for life," he said.

- The great unknown -
Perhaps most exciting of all is journeying into the unknown, said Straughn.

Hubble played a key role in discovering that dark energy is causing the universe to expand at an ever-growing rate, "so it's hard to imagine what we might learn with this 100 times more powerful instrument."



10 Native Spring Ephemerals that Bring Early Color to the Garden

This July 12, 2005, image provided by Bugwood.org shows dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). (Joseph OBrien/USDA Forest Service/Bugwood.org via AP)
This July 12, 2005, image provided by Bugwood.org shows dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). (Joseph OBrien/USDA Forest Service/Bugwood.org via AP)
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10 Native Spring Ephemerals that Bring Early Color to the Garden

This July 12, 2005, image provided by Bugwood.org shows dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). (Joseph OBrien/USDA Forest Service/Bugwood.org via AP)
This July 12, 2005, image provided by Bugwood.org shows dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). (Joseph OBrien/USDA Forest Service/Bugwood.org via AP)

Spring brings the return of color to the garden as bulbs bloom, perennials re-emerge, and new annuals settle in. But there’s a less common category of plants that’s also worth knowing: native spring ephemerals.

Compared to most garden plants, ephemerals are fleeting, but their role in bridging the gap between winter and spring is invaluable.

Ephemerals come to life in very early spring to take advantage of the season’s increased soil moisture, early spring rains and the availability of sunlight under leafless trees.

They poke up, grow quickly, put on a colorful show and then go dormant all within 6 to 8 weeks, typically from when the last snow melts to when the trees leaf out. And unlike plants that leave fading foliage behind, ephemerals retreat without a trace — or nearly so — allowing you to take advantage of the precious real estate left behind for later-season, shade-loving perennials, The AP news reported.

Early food for insects, and a sight for sore eyes Native ephemerals' role in nature is to feed starving insects that emerge from dormancy at a time when other food is scarce. But they also provide flowery accents for garden-starved humans at a time when landscape color is scarce.

Plant potted ephemerals or their corms or rhizomes in either spring or early fall. If sowing seeds, do so in late summer or early fall to allow time for growth and root establishment before winter. Either way, select a spot under deciduous trees that receives temporary spring sunlight and has well-draining, acidic soil (exceptions are noted below).

A generous helping of compost, mixed into the soil, will provide nutrients, and a 2-inch layer of mulch will insulate and protect roots while dormant.

Fertilizer isn’t absolutely necessary, but a dose provided when buds begin to form in spring will boost flower size.

In fall, dig up and divide overgrown ephemerals, if necessary, and give the area a good watering to help prepare them for winter. Because the plants will likely disappear underground by mid-summer, marking their spots with popsicle sticks in spring will make finding them easier.

Here are 10 native spring ephemerals to consider: Azure bluet (Houstonia caerulea) — Small, pale-blue flower with yellow center and rosette leaves. Sow seeds just below the soil surface. Grow in rock gardens or in the lawn, but don’t mow until plants have set seed for the following year. Grows 8 inches tall.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) — One large, broad leaf and one orange-centered white flower per plant, each on its own stem. Spreads quickly to form a ground cover. Grows 12-14 inches tall.

Calypso orchid, fairy slipper (Calypso bulbosa) — A single, dainty, purple-magenta-yellow-white blossom atop a slender stem with a single leaf. Thrives best in shade or part shade and can handle alkaline soil. Grows 2-8 inches tall.

Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) — Deep-cut, feathery foliage, slender stems and drooping, fragrant white flowers. Note to parents and pet owners: All of its parts are toxic, but only if consumed in large quantities; causes minor skin irritation when touched. Beneficial to bumblebees. Grows 10 inches tall.

Fringed bleeding hearts (Dicentra eximia) — Not to be confused with the Asian bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis), this US native has light-green, fernlike foliage and clusters of drooping, heart-shaped pink flowers on mounding plants. Thrives in moist, rocky soil and prefers part-shade to shade. Attracts birds. Grows 1-2 feet tall.

Great white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) — A triplet of oval leaves surrounds a solitary large white flower that turns pink as it matures. Berries and roots have a low toxicity, but only if eaten. Thrives in sun to shade. Grows 1-3 feet tall.

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) — Pink, but opens to reveal blue flowers on arching, branched stems. Prefers part shade or shade, and moist, rocky soil. A colonizing, rapid spreader. Grows 1-3 feet tall.

Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) — Pink or white flowers on maroon stems with whorled leaves. Prefers partly shady conditions. Note to parents and pet owners: All parts of this plant are toxic, but only if eaten in large quantities; contact with sap will cause irritation. Grows 9 inches tall.

Trout lily (Erythronium americanum) — Blotchy leaves and red-tinged, nodding yellow flowers with curled-back petals. Will perform best in full sun but can handle part shade. Does not transplant well, so leave it in place once planted. Grows 8 inches tall.

Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) — Each leaf is divided into two lung-shaped leaflets, with white, star-shaped flowers atop leafless flower stalks. Petals are delicate and can be blown off by wind. Grows 1-3 feet tall.