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Astronomer here. This is clearly an overhyped title. Sure JWST is great and a lot will hopefully come from it, but we don't need to overhype it. So far we learn

Astronomer here. This is clearly an overhyped title. Sure JWST is great and a lot will hopefully come from it, but we don't need to overhype it. So far we learned from JWST that it is performing well, but no ground breaking results (but for sure they will come). (Tbh I stopped reading quanta because every time there is a news "X solved problem nobody thought could be solved" and titles like that.)

jacquesm 4y ago
I think the machine itself, the comms, the general tech behind it is already groundbreaking enough to justify the title.
- oneoff786 4y ago
  That would be a feat of engineering. Not astronomy
  - wumpus 4y ago
    Isn't there enough credit to go around? BTW, the people who work on these details inside astronomy are called "instrumentalists", whether they're scientists or engineers.
    - oneoff786 4y ago
      No, and it’s not a diminishing comment to suggest otherwise. It’s a great achievement. It’s not reshaping astronomy at this time.
      - wumpus 4y ago
        I was hoping you would be interested in how the actual astronomy community thinks about it. Few of them would agree with your statement.
        oneoff786 4y ago
        I was hoping you wouldn’t throw in a passive aggressive sleight and cite some evidence if you’re saying in factually incorrect.
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koheripbal 4y ago
Agreed. I'm cautiously optimistic that new science gets done soon, but so far, no existing science theories/data has been "reshaped". I'm also hopeful that it doesn't get hit with any more micrometeoroids, because that risk is larger than expected and it will bring the party to a close much earlier than expected.
_joel 4y ago
I don't know, finding the oldest known galaxy ever is a pretty big one in my book. GLASS-z13 at the sprightly 13.4 billion light-years away.
- DiogenesKynikos 4y ago
  I'd wait for spectroscopic confirmation before declaring this the most distant discovered galaxy. Last I read about this (6 days ago), this was just a galaxy candidate, based on photometric measurements (not a spectrum).[0] It still could be some different type of object. The spectrum will give much more information. It's exciting of this discovery pans out, and it's exactly the sort of thing JWST is supposed to find, but it's still too early to say that this object has been definitely determined to be a distant galaxy. 0. https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.09434 https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.09434
falseprofit 4y ago
The appropriate levels of hype and/or excitement to discoveries in science and math are entirely subjective. You just aren’t as excited about it as their target audience.

jacquesm 4y ago

I think the machine itself, the comms, the general tech behind it is already groundbreaking enough to justify the title.

oneoff786 4y ago
That would be a feat of engineering. Not astronomy
- wumpus 4y ago
  Isn't there enough credit to go around? BTW, the people who work on these details inside astronomy are called "instrumentalists", whether they're scientists or engineers.
  - oneoff786 4y ago
    No, and it’s not a diminishing comment to suggest otherwise. It’s a great achievement. It’s not reshaping astronomy at this time.
    - wumpus 4y ago
      I was hoping you would be interested in how the actual astronomy community thinks about it. Few of them would agree with your statement.
      - oneoff786 4y ago
        I was hoping you wouldn’t throw in a passive aggressive sleight and cite some evidence if you’re saying in factually incorrect.
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koheripbal 4y ago

Agreed. I'm cautiously optimistic that new science gets done soon, but so far, no existing science theories/data has been "reshaped". I'm also hopeful that it doesn't get hit with any more micrometeoroids, because that risk is larger than expected and it will bring the party to a close much earlier than expected.

_joel 4y ago

I don't know, finding the oldest known galaxy ever is a pretty big one in my book. GLASS-z13 at the sprightly 13.4 billion light-years away.

DiogenesKynikos 4y ago
I'd wait for spectroscopic confirmation before declaring this the most distant discovered galaxy. Last I read about this (6 days ago), this was just a galaxy candidate, based on photometric measurements (not a spectrum).[0] It still could be some different type of object. The spectrum will give much more information. It's exciting of this discovery pans out, and it's exactly the sort of thing JWST is supposed to find, but it's still too early to say that this object has been definitely determined to be a distant galaxy. 0. https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.09434 https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.09434

falseprofit 4y ago

The appropriate levels of hype and/or excitement to discoveries in science and math are entirely subjective. You just aren’t as excited about it as their target audience.