“Are you ready, are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?” After the sneak peek into James Webb Telescope’s abilities and its very first photo, NASA has more jaw-dropping content to share. The first batch of Webb’s images has finally been unveiled, and I must admit that I’ve been at the edge of my seat ever since the test photo was published. It was well worth the wait – the newly released photos are absolutely mind-blowing and I’m sure you’ll share my opinion.
NASA revealed the photos in a live TV broadcast today after US President Joe Biden unveiled Webb’s First Deep Field the day before. A number of NASA, ESA, and CSA scientists spoke to the public, sharing some details about the telescope and its mission. President of the Canadian Space Agency Lisa Campbell noted that Webb will explore the most distant galaxies, but also aid an in-depth analysis of the most prominent exoplanets.
Due to its infrared vision, Webb will be able to pierce through dust clouds and see further than any telescope has ever seen. What I find incredibly mind-blowing is that the images it can take show the universe as it was 13 billion years ago. In the future, Webb will capture the universe from up to 13.5 billion years ago. I know, all those numbers sound abstract. But here’s something for comparison: The Big Bang happened 13.8 billion years ago. So, Webb’s view goes as close as it gets to the beginning of our universe. I’m not sure I can even wrap my mind around it! What’s pretty amazing about JWST is the speed at which it can extract data. As explained in the live stream, the previous record holder for deep field space images belonged to Hubble. It took ten days for the telescope to take its photos. But with Webb – Astrophysicist Jane Rigby says they took the first deep field photo “before breakfast.” In fact, all five images from the first batch were taken within just five days. Just imagine the discoveries that are still ahead of us. In the words of Carl Sagan, “somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” I won’t keep you on the edge of your seats any longer. Behold the very first collection of photos taken with the James Webb Space Telescope! For comparison, check out the same subject shot in 1998 by Hubble:
Here is a detail from the “Cosmic Cliffs,” one of many intriguing bits of this magnificent image, but taken with Hubble: [Lead image credits: NASA/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez]
