Largest image by James Webb Space Telescope shows glittering galaxies


Sarwat Nasir
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An enormous colour mosaic made up of images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope has been released.

Collectively known as Epoch 1, the image is the largest one yet made using data from the world’s largest space observatory.

The mosaic is made up 690 individual frames taken with the telescope’s near infrared camera ― a science instrument that captures radiant energy from objects that are invisible to the human eye.

Scientists with the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (Ceers) produced the mosaic using Webb’s data.

“Epoch 1 covers less than half of our total survey area on the sky and already the images have led to new discoveries and an unexpected, but not unwelcome, abundance of never-before-seen galaxies,” Ceers said.

The mosaic covers an area of sky about eight times as large as Webb’s first deep field image released on July 12.

It shows many wonders of the universe, including a spiral galaxy, a large number of blue star-forming clumps and star clusters, interacting galaxies and supernovae – explosions of stars.

The $10 billion Webb telescope was launched on Christmas Day and since then has been sending back unique data on the universe, including the solar system.

Scientists around the world are using its data to deepen their understanding of the early universe.

It is much more advanced than the Hubble Space Telescope because of its breakthrough technology, design and its location in space, which allows it to see much farther.

The telescope is equipped with sensitive cameras and spectrographs that can capture light directed into them by its huge golden mirror.

It has been developed by Nasa with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

The first image from the telescope was revealed by US President Joe Biden on July 11. It showed the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it was 4.6 billion years ago.

On July 20, it detected the oldest known galaxy in the universe, called Glass-z13, which was formed about 300 million years after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.

This breaks the record set by its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, which spotted GN-z11, a galaxy that was formed 400 million years after the birth of the universe.

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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time

Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.

Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.

The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.

The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.

Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.

The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.

• Bloomberg

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From: Upper Egypt

Age: 78

Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila

Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace

Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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Updated: August 25, 2022, 10:36 PM`