First James Webb Space Telescope photos show the universe in a new light

Miriam Kramer
13 Jul, 2022

The first batch of James Webb Space Telescope photos released by NASA usher in a new era of discovery as the powerful new tool comes fully online.

Why it matters:

The $10 billion observatory is tasked with revealing the processes that govern our universe, from how stars form to how the earliest galaxies evolved.

What's happening:

The photos, released Monday and Tuesday, show off star formation within the Carina Nebula, a giant planet's atmosphere, a cluster of galaxies, one of the deepest photos of the universe ever taken and a planetary nebula.

The deep field photo revealed on Monday by President Biden contains galaxies as they looked more than 13 billion years ago, not long after the Big Bang.
The JWST's image of the giant, extremely hot exoplanet WASP-96 b revealed water vapor in its atmosphere.
And the telescope's photo of the planetary nebula called the Southern Ring Nebula shows off the dying star at its center as never before.

How it works:

The JWST looks out on the universe in infrared light, allowing it to cut through dust that obscures photos taken in optical wavelengths.

This allows the telescope to see galaxies that are farther away and further back in time in order to piece together how the earliest galaxies formed after the Big Bang.
The telescope's huge mirror and instruments also allow scientists to gather data about the compositions of alien planets' atmosphere and how stars form.

Between the lines:

This mission hasn't been without its controversies here on Earth.

While today the telescope is in space and appears to be functioning perfectly, its development cost billions of dollars more than expected and took decades longer than anticipated to build.
Astronomers are also calling on NASA to re-name the observatory, saying that former NASA Administrator James Webb had a hand in ousting LGBTQ+ employees from their federal jobs in the 1950s and 1960s.