For those not up on the project, what are some of the earliest novel types of information we expect to receive from it?
- very early galaxies (so far that they are redshifted to far IR). Hence the “looking into the start of the Universe” talk). We know they are there, and that they are unusual and super-interesting, but just can’t see them.
I think this is high on the agenda so I’m guessing some PR shots of ancient galaxies are due.
- cold objects nearby; brown dwarves, rogue planets etc. Maybe planets around nearby stars.
- I haven’t seen this discussed, but maybe: Kuiper Belt objects, maybe looking for Planet X etc.
IIRC the telescope will be able to see "back" into 98% of the observable universe.
The universe's history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_universe#/me...
- We can see the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the earliest photons after the big bang still observable. This is ~14 minutes into Jan 1 if the whole age of the universe is a year. Satellites like the WMAP have done a great job of that.
- The dark ages that follow had few photon sources.
- JWST will be observing the earliest stars following that era.
There's a proposed radio telescope (that would have to be on the far side of the moon!) to observe neutral hydrogen photon emissions from the dark ages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Ages_Radio_Explorer
The other comment mentioning darkness is wrong.
In the very early universe, it was extremely bright and hot. It was only after 100,000 years or so the universe cooled down enough to become transparent.
https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/science/origins.html
Note that the next 5 months or so will consist of mirror cooling and calibration, so nothing until summer.
...but who knows.
Trying to get an image out of it too early would just be a mess, it’s kind of an all or nothing affair. The sensor needs to be at the right temperature and the mirrors need to be precisely aligned. It’s all built to be outrageously sensitive so it can operate at the level it’s meant to.
Also, each image it’s scheduled to take has been submitted years in advance.
https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-progra...
The overall idea is that JWST can see very faint objects in the infrared spectrum. The analogy I've heard is that it could pick out a bedroom nightlight on the moon from earth.
Also spectra will be available to understand physical and chemical compositions at early times.
If we saw that the next step would probably be a telescope designed specifically to observe that target. There are some thoughts about using a telescope out near Pluto that could use the sun as a gigantic gravitational lens to photograph an exoplanet and get very detailed spectroscopic information.
If we have a planet nine that is a primordial black hole that would be an absolute killer gravitational lens.