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While the purpose of this image was to focus on the bright star at the center for alignment evaluation, Webb's optics and NIRCam are so sensitive that the galaxies and stars seen in the background show up. At this stage of Webb?s mirror alignment, known as ?fine phasing,? each of the primary mirror segments have been adjusted to produce one unified image of the same star using only the NIRCam instrument. This image of the star, which is called 2MASS J17554042+6551277, uses a red filter to optimize visual contrast.

The James Webb Space Telescope has sent back its clearest image yet

16 March 2022

A crucial phase of mirror alignment has been completed for the James Webb Space Telescope, and the process resulted in the highest resolution infrared image ever taken from space

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