Not that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope wasn’t getting the enthusiastic applause from the scientific community and space fans in general, but humanity’s more powerful eye in the sky has received a much deserved nod from the United States Postal Service. The USPS has chosen two iconic images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and has released two new priority mail stamps. The new stamps were issued on Monday (November 22)
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mission is led by NASA with support from ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency)
“NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is the perfect intersection of science, engineering, and art as it reveals the greatest secrets of our cosmos through the beautiful images it captures,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With these stamps, people across the country can have their own snapshot of Webb’s captivating images – and the incredible science they represent – at their fingertips, and know that they, too, are part of this ground-breaking new era in astronomy.”
Fox was quoted by NASA on its website.
Watch | NASA’s James Webb space telescope’s latest images, captures new views of Universe
The first of the two stamps is a Priority Mail Express stamp. It features image taken by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). The image shows “Cosmic Cliffs” from the Carina Nebula.
The Nebula is about 7600 light-years away from us. Nebulas are where stars are born, and the JWST has been able to capture the stellar nursery relly well uncovering hidden stars which were previously hidden from sight.
The second stamp is a Priority Mail Express stamp which features image of “Pillars of Creation” taken by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). This celestial structure was first made famous by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
In this image, pillars of gas and dust are visible. In the middle of all this gas and dust are newly forming stars which may take thousands of years to form fully. The ‘Pillars of Creation’ structure is in Eagle Nebula which s 6500 light-years away.
(With inputs from agencies)
