The James Webb Space Telescope will witness a shattered world in high definition
Researchers look forward to glimpses of worlds colliding in action from NASA’s state-of-the-art space observatory. Once the James Webb Space Telescope completes its commissioning period and releases its first operational images on July 12, the observatory will dive into the science in earnest. And one of the telescope’s first year investigations will include a close-up view of Beta Pictoris’ strange surroundings. The young star, just 63 light-years from us, is surrounded by a dusty disk filled with debris left over from its formation. It is a bustling space, housing “at least two planets [and] piles of smaller rocky objects,” the researchers said in a 2021 press release (opens in a new tab) about the investigation. Live update : NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Mission Related : How the James Webb Space Telescope works in pictures While research has many directions, one key aspect is observing young planetary systems that evolve when planetesimals (planetary precursors) collide.