Webb captures its first images of Mars and the Red Planet looks mighty: See Pics

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) recently captured its first images of Mars, providing a unique perspective with its infrared sensitivity on our neighbouring planet.

Webb's first observation of the Red Planet provides a view of Mars' observable disk (the portion of the sunlit side that is facing the telescope), complementing the data being collected by other missions.

The observations were conducted as part of Webb's Cycle 1 Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) Solar System program led by Heidi Hammel of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).

Webb used two of its powerful instruments - the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), and the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) - to explore the Red Planet.

The images captured by Webb's NIRCam (see above) show a region of the planet's eastern hemisphere at two different wavelengths or colours of infrared light. The rings of the Huygens Crater, the dark volcanic rock of Syrtis Major, and the brightening in the Hellas Basin - the largest well-preserved impact structure on Mars - are all apparent in the NIRCam shorter-wavelength (2.1 microns) image. On the other hand, the NIRCam longer-wavelength (4.3 microns) image shows thermal emission – light given off by the planet as it loses heat.

Webb got its first look at @NASAMars! 👀The close-up on the left reveals surface features such as Huygens Crater, dark volcanic Syrtis Major, and Hellas Basin, while the “heat map" on the right shows light being given off by Mars as it loses heat. More: https://t.co/7dVIr9g6NB pic.twitter.com/xOiPbz5nsT

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) September 19, 2022

Webb's first near-infrared spectrum of Mars, captured by NIRSpec, shows the telescope's power to study the Red Planet with spectroscopy. The spectrum shows the subtle variations in brightness between hundreds of different wavelengths representative of the planet as a whole.

Image Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI and Mars JWST/GTO team

Webb's infrared spectrum of Mars shows the signatures of water, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in Mars’ atmosphere. The data also provides information about the planet’s dust, clouds, rocks and more. Astronomers will further analyse the features of the spectrum to gather additional information about the surface and atmosphere of the planet.