Image of Comet 238P/Read captured by the Webb Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above). A scale bar is labeled 3,000 kilometers and 2,000 miles.
This image shows near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows the filter used when collecting the light.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, CSA, Mike Kelley
Image Processing
Henry Hsieh (PSI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Comet 238P/Read, P/2005 U1 |
| Object Description | Main-belt comet |
| Distance | Comet Read was 2.0897 au from JWST at the time of observation (about 300 million kilometers). |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (M. Kelley) |
| Instrument | NIRCam |
| Exposure Dates | 8 September 2022 |
| Filters | F200W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is acquired by the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a blue hue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image. |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
