NASA’s Webb Unfolds the Universe

The James Webb Deep Space Telescope just sent us a few postcards: The first jaw-dropping images of galaxies far, far away. Wish you were here.

“NASA’s Webb Reveals Cosmic Cliffs, Glittering Landscape of Star Birth.” (Image Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI.)

The day scientists, astronomers and stargazers have been eagerly awaiting has finally arrived.

“The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency),” NASA announced triumphantly.

Even for scientists, they sounded excited. With good reason, as it turns out.

“The telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data were released during a televised broadcast at 10:30 a.m. EDT (14:30 UTC) on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,” read NASA’s press release. “These listed targets below represent the first wave of full-color scientific images and spectra the observatory has gathered, and the official beginning of Webb’s general science operations.”

These particular photos, according to NASA, “were selected by an international committee of representatives from NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute.”