Competition is fierce to take a peek through the $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope, so astronomer Tom Stallard feels “very lucky and very happy” to be getting a turn next month.
The British scientist has been granted 22 hours to point the telescope at Jupiter, study its upper atmosphere and gather unique images to help solve mysteries about the planets, including Earth.
Since Webb is a powerful time machine that can show scientists the earliest stars and galaxies whose light reaches Earth more than 10 billion years later, it is even rarer to turn its mirror towards “little old Jupiter”, Mr Stallard said.
Out of 249 winning proposals for Webb's second year of observation, his is the only one that focuses on a planet in our Solar System, and was approved by fellow scientists in May.
“I’m actually very surprised. Time on the James Webb telescope is almost impossible to get,” he told The National. “I'm very lucky and very happy to get the time.”
As familiar as Jupiter may be by Webb's standards, Mr Stallard expects that “we'll be seeing all sorts of weird and wacky stuff” when images are beamed back to Earth.
“James Webb is changing how astronomers see the universe in a really profound way. We are mostly as breathless as everyone else when we see this stuff come back,” he said.
Like rocket launches, turns on the telescope are timed to align with the movements of planets and satellites. In Jupiter’s case, Webb will photograph the planet right as Nasa’s Juno orbiter is taking corresponding measurements.
The date is September 7 but it is not a matter of stargazing from a window – the instructions for Webb’s instruments will have been submitted in advance, and at that point, there is “nothing we can do”, Mr Stallard said.
Images of Jupiter from the James Webb telescope – in pictures
But “profoundly wonderful” images should start coming down within hours, to be combined with the data from Juno and pored over by eager astronomers back on Earth.
The aim is to create a data set “mineable for years to come” and publish findings on Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, which loses its contents to space in a manner that is not fully understood.
Mr Stallard’s case that “there’s something weird going on with gas giants”, and understanding them better could help us get to grips with far-flung planets and whether they might be habitable, won over Webb’s selection panel.
He says there are things to learn about the Earth by studying Jupiter because the atmospheric processes are similar even though the gas giant’s magnetic field is much stronger.
Webb is the only way
The submission also rested on Mr Stallard’s argument that the Webb telescope, which was launched in 2021 and orbits the Sun, “is the only way you can do this kind of observation”.
He said Webb’s 22-hour surveillance of Jupiter was worth several nights on the Keck Observatory, a pair of ground-based telescopes 4,150 metres above sea level in Hawaii.
Planetary astronomers are lucky that people like looking at Jupiter and “we get a lot of free observations that are useful”, according to Mr Stallard. It is even possible to send spacecraft there – the European orbiter Juice is due to arrive at Jupiter in 2031 for a look at its icy moons.
But these are no substitute for the powerful Webb as a way of understanding Jupiter’s atmosphere.
“If we didn’t do it this way, there would be no way of doing it,” said Mr Stallard, who is based at Northumbria University in north-east England and is principal investigator among dozens of scientists on the project.
Webb is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and its instruments are more sensitive, its mirror six times larger and its orbit farther from Earth – all of which means it can see things a billion times fainter than the human eye.
This week it observed the farthest star yet detected in the universe, known as Earendel, and visible about a billion years after the Big Bang.
In a striking illustration of its impact, one physicist in Canada recently used findings from the telescope to theorise that the universe is actually 26.7 billion years old – twice as old as previously thought.
The gatekeepers to Webb’s instruments are scientists at the Space Telescope Science Institute. It invited astronomers around the world to fight over 5,000 hours of observation time in this year’s cycle.
Astronomers on Webb “never go in hoping that you’ll be completely surprised” but every observation brings something unexpected and there are sure to be unusual findings on Jupiter, Mr Stallard said.
“When you see an amazing image, it’s just as bizarre and bonkers for us.”
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
