The first full-color, high-resolution images from the $9 billion James Webb Space Telescope have provided humanity with the most detailed view of the early universe—over 13 billion years ago.
According to AP, the first images from NASA’s new space telescope were unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on July 11, showcasing a universe filled with galaxies and offering the deepest insights ever captured about the cosmos.
The first “cosmic dawn” image from James Webb – (Photo: NASA)
The images were revealed at a White House event. President Biden described, “This is the oldest light ever recorded in the history of the universe, from over 13 billion—let me say that again—13 billion years ago. It’s hard to fathom.”
Reuters also quoted Biden’s comments: “This is a new window into the history of our universe”; “and today we will see the first light through that window: Light from other worlds, stars orbiting around us. That is truly amazing to me.”
Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson stated that the image, filled with hundreds of spots, streaks, swirls, and spirals in shades of white, yellow, orange, and red, is merely “a tiny dot of the universe.”
Nelson further explained that the most prominent galaxy cluster in the image is SMACS 0723, which is 4.6 billion years old, acting as a gravitational lens that distorts space and significantly enhances our ability to observe the light from galaxies situated even further behind it.
The faint bright spots in the background represent entities dating back over 13 billion years, as noted by the U.S. President.
NASA also revealed that it would release four more stunning images on July 12, including a view of a giant gas planet outside our Solar System, two images of a nebula where stars are born and die in spectacular beauty, and updated images of five galaxies that are “dancing.”
The James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful telescope in the world, was launched into space in December of last year from French Guiana in South America. It reached its observation point 1.6 million kilometers from Earth in January 2022.
Following that was a lengthy process to align the mirrors, cool the infrared detectors for operation, and calibrate the scientific instruments, all protected by a sunshield the size of a tennis court to keep the telescope cool.
The telescope is tasked with looking into distant worlds over 13 billion light-years away, preserving images of the universe’s early era and magnifying cosmic objects closer to provide sharper focus.
Jonathan Gardner, a deputy scientist on the James Webb project, explained: “Webb can look back in time to just after the Big Bang by searching for galaxies that are very far away, whose light has taken billions of years to travel from those galaxies to our telescope.
This means that the distant images captured by the telescope are images from over 13 billion years ago, not present-day images.
How far back do those first images appear? Project scientist Klaus Pontoppidan indicated that in the coming days, astronomers will conduct complex calculations to determine the ages of those galaxies.
James Webb is considered the successor to the highly successful but aging Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble has observed up to 13.4 billion light-years away and even detected the light signature of an extremely bright galaxy in 2016.
