James Webb Space Telescope: First images provide deepest view yet into space

The development of the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 1996 by NASA, ESA and CSA. It was completed in 2015 and launched into space on December 25, 2021, on an Ariane 5 rocket. It then flew to the L2 Lagrange point as its target - the infrared telescope reached its orbit on January 24, 2022. And now, after a multi-part, highly complex deployment maneuver, cooling down the instruments and aligning the mirrors, they are finally here: the first images that offer the "deepest view ever."

The telescope photographs in the infrared range. Therefore, the images were first converted into a color spectrum visible to the eye.

The first image was presented by NASA together with U.S. President Joe Biden in advance on Monday evening. On it the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is to be seen. According to NASA, the image shows the "deepest and sharpest infrared view of the universe yet recorded."

The planetary nebula NGC 3132 looks like a big eye. It is also known as the Southern Ring Nebula and contains a white dwarf star in the center.

The Stephen's Quintet is 290 million light-years from Earth. It is a collection of different galaxies that are close together. NASA says of the image that it shows a "cosmic dance of repeated close encounters."

Only about 6500 to 10000 light-years away is the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) in the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way. The nebula spans about 200 to 300 light-years and is one of the brighter objects in the night sky.

With the release of the first images, NASA marks the official start of scientific work with the most powerful space telescope to date. The telescope will "change our understanding of the universe," says ESA chief Josef Aschbacher, adding, "Beyond science, it is also a symbol of international cooperation."

The James Webb Space Telescope cost approximately ten billion U.S. dollars and can be considered the successor to the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes. Among other things, scientists hope to gain new insights into the time after the Big Bang. It is able to detect water and other substances on planets on the basis of their spectral lines. Whether it will one day also find signs of a distant alien civilization remains to be seen. To give all of humanity the chance to make discoveries, scientists from around the world can submit applications to point the telescope at objects of interest to them.