President Biden has released the first full-color scientific photograph of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope On Monday, it displayed the power of the new observatory with one of the deepest images of the universe ever taken.
why does it matter: This long-awaited milestone will pave the way for the rest of the telescope’s $10 billion mission to reshape our understanding of how the universe evolved from the oldest galaxies to today.
News Leadership: The image shows a galaxy cluster so massive that it distorts the light of other galaxies behind it, acting as a magnifying glass in space and allowing JWST to see faint, faraway galaxies far away, according to NASA.
- “This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky the size of a grain of sand that a person on Earth holds at arm’s length,” the space agency wrote. picture description.
- On Tuesday, NASA is set to reveal the rest of the first images of JWST at 10:30 a.m. ET. You can watch the ad live NASA TV Starting at 9:45 a.m. ET.
what are they saying: “You see galaxies shining around other galaxies whose light is curved, and you only see a tiny tiny part of the universe,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, along with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, said Monday.
- “These photos will remind the world that America can do big things,” Biden said.
- “We are now entering a new phase of scientific discovery,” Harris added. “Building on Hubble’s legacy, the James Webb Space Telescope allows us to see deeper into space than ever before, with amazing clarity.” “It will enhance what we know about the origins of our universe, our solar system, and possibly life itself.”
Between the lines: This deep field image comes the first in a long line of images such as those taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Hubble first deep field It was created when astronomers pointed a space observatory at a seemingly uninteresting spot of the sky in 1995.
- The image – taken over the course of 10 days – was teeming with galaxies, some of which formed when the universe was only 500 million years old.
- Since then, astronomers have continued to use Hubble to take deep images of the universe, revealing more galaxies light years away.
The Big Picture: Now, the JWST is expected to change everything about how scientists understand the early history of our universe.
- Using infrared light, the telescope will be able to penetrate cosmic dust and see farther into the past than ever before, revealing the first galaxies and stars that formed in a nascent universe.
what do you want to watch: Images due to be released by NASA on Tuesday are expected to show more of the JWST’s broad set of science goals.
- The first batch will reveal the minute details of star formation, the atmosphere of an exoplanet, a group of galaxies, and a planetary nebula, according to NASA.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details following its disclosure.
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