Astro Blog

https://webbtelescope.org/news/news-releases By NASA, ESA, Canadian Space Agency.  Excerpt: The first images and spectroscopic data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have revealed unprecedented and detailed views of the universe. Webb’s first images and spectra, including downloadable files, can be found at  https://webbtelescope.org/news/first-images .… See zoomable image of Webb's First Deep Field (very early galaxies); Deepest Image of Universe ; Spectrum of an exoplanet ; Southern Ring Nebula (dying star); Stephan’s Quintet (merging galaxies); star-forming region NGC 3324  in the Carina Nebula; and Science Magazine article  Webb telescope wows with first images .

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/science/webb-telescope-exoplanets-atmosphere.html Source:     Carl Zimmer , The New York Times Excerpt:  The first question astronomers want to answer about exoplanets: Do they have atmospheres friendly to life? ... Identifying an atmosphere in another solar system would be remarkable enough. But there is even a chance — albeit tiny — that one of these atmospheres will offer what is known as a biosignature: a signal of life itself. ... Scientists are still debating what a reliable biosignature would be. Earth’s atmosphere is unique in our solar system in that it contains a lot of oxygen, largely the product of plants and algae. But oxygen can also be produced without life’s help, when water molecules in the air are split. Methane, likewise, can be released by living microbes but also by volcanoes.