🚀 Inside NASA's monumental effort to deliver the first Webb Telescope images

Thursday

Dec 22 2022

One year ago this Christmas, the James Webb Space Telescope finally went to space — and this summer, we saw the $10 billion, decades-long endeavor finally pay off with the release of the first five images. A new feature takes us inside the scramble to put those images together — including how the first attempt at capturing the atmosphere of a distant planet was thwarted by a nearby star. But the effort was all worth it, and now we are getting the first inklings of what the telescope can do — with many, many years ahead in the venerable mission.

P.S. We're taking a few days off for the holidays! Inverse Daily will return to your inbox December 27.

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Science

Inside NASA's monumental effort to deliver the first Webb Telescope images

On June 15, Klaus Pontoppidan was about as relaxed as a sleep-deprived project scientist in charge of a $10 billion telescope could be.

Pontoppidan’s team at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore had been assigned to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Observations (ERO) program and tasked with capturing and processing five images to showcase NASA’s new flagship observatory’s capabilities for the public.

Each image had to demonstrate the capabilities of the instruments on the space telescope and highlight the kinds of science these instruments could make possible. They had a strict deadline: NASA wanted to reveal them to the world on July 12.

Good Trip

Mond and Body

Do genetics determine how you respond to psychedelics? A new study suggests they might

Research into psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin as treatments for substance use disorder, depression, anxiety, and PTSD is incredibly promising. The evidence is so compelling that some states are decriminalizing the possession of these drugs and legalizing their therapeutic use, even as they remain under the federal government’s Schedule 1 classification.

As promising as they are, researchers are still teasing apart the mechanisms through which they work. In particular, they’ve found that people seem to respond differently to various psychedelics. Understanding why this is could help researchers identify the optimal psychedelic treatment for a given person.

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Entertainment

2022’s best movies defied the most annoying trend in cinema

We live in an era of franchise overload.

Most of the movies we get are either sequels or movies designed to eventually produce sequels. That’s led to some understandable moaning about the overall state of the movie industry. 2022 was no exception to this trend. This year, we saw the release of three Marvel movies, all sequels to established properties, as well as a slew of sequels to other long-running franchises.

What makes 2022 feel distinct, though, is that a lot of these sequels were actually pretty good.

Scene Stealers

Entertainment

How Ruth Codd became Netflix’s newest breakout star

Like a lot of people, Ruth Codd got into TikTok during the pandemic. But unlike the rest of us, that hobby turned into a new career.

After losing her job as a barber, the 26-year-old Irish actor turned to TikTok as a creative outlet and soon found herself with a sizable following (more than 672,000 followers and 20 million likes to her since-deleted account). But Codd never thought she’d wind up her delivering one of the most memorable TV performances of 2022 as Anya in Mike Flanagan’s The Midnight Club.

The Irish actor opens up about her sudden career change and her future in House of Usher and beyond.

Space

Science

NASA declares its InSight lander dead

NASA’s InSight lander has passed into its long Martian sleep, and it’s making us all cry.

In a poignant tweet, the Mars lander’s social media team shared a dusty image of InSight’s landing site, along with what the hardworking space robot might have said, if it could actually tweet:

“My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will — but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me.”

Meanwhile...

36-year-study finds weird weather cycles on Jupiter

When will fusion energy be available? Here's what 3 scientists predict

'Guardians of the Galaxy 3' is changing Rocket's origin story

The 6 most anticipated Nintendo Switch games coming in 2023

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🚀 Inside NASA's monumental effort to deliver the first Webb Telescope images

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