FILE – In this April 13, 2017 photo provided by NASA, technicians lift the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope using a crane at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (Laura Betz/NASA via AP, File)
This image provided by NASA on Monday, July 11, 2022, shows galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists can get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (NASA/ESA/CSA via AP)
A James Webb Space Telescope photo provided by NASA shows the Carina Nebula, showing the earliest stages of star formation. (NASA via The New York Times) Ñ EDITORIAL USE ONLY Ñ
This image provided by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, shows Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies captured by the Webb Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). This mosaic was constructed from almost 1,000 separate image files, according to NASA. (NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via AP)
A James Webb Space Telescope photo provided by NASA shows the Southern Ring Nebula, a dying star, expelling a colorful gas cloud that will eventually expand and fade away into the space between stars. (NASA via The New York Times) Ñ EDITORIAL USE ONLY Ñ
A still image from video provided by NASA shows a graph based on data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope spotted the unambiguous signature of water, indications of haze and evidence of clouds in the exoplanet WASP-96b, the most detailed exoplanet spectrum to date. (NASA via The New York Times) Ñ EDITORIAL USE ONLY Ñ
An image provided by NASA shows a detail of damage to one of the James Webb Space TelescopeÕs mirrors, which was hit by a micrometeoroid. (NASA via The New York Times) Ñ EDITORIAL USE ONLY Ñ
A photo provided by NASA shows NASA Administrator James Webb circa 1962-1963. Astronomers have pushed NASA to take the name of Webb off the agencyÕs space telescope, saying he was involved in homophobic incidents. (NASA via The New York Times) Ñ EDITORIAL USE ONLY Ñ
IN SPACE – JULY 12: In this handout photo provided by NASA, the dimmer star at the center of this scene has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed for the first time that this star is cloaked in dust on July 12, 2022 in space. Two cameras aboard Webb captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132, and known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is approximately 2,500 light-years away. (Photo by NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via Getty Images)
This image provided by NASA on Monday, July 11, 2022, shows galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists can get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (NASA/ESA/CSA via AP)
A James Webb Space Telescope photo provided by NASA (NASA via The New York Times) Ñ EDITORIAL USE ONLY Ñ
This image provided by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, shows Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies captured by the Webb Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). (NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via AP)
FILE – This 2015 artist’s rendering provided by Northrop Grumman via NASA shows the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (Northrop Grumman/NASA via AP, File)
This combo of images released by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, shows a side-by-side comparison of observations of the Southern Ring Nebula in near-infrared light, at left, and mid-infrared light, at right, from the Webb Telescope. (NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via AP)
This image released by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, combined the capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope’s two cameras to create a never-before-seen view of a star-forming region in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), this combined image reveals previously invisible areas of star birth. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI via AP)
This image provided by NASA on Monday, July 11, 2022, shows galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists can get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI via AP)
An image of the Southern Ring Nebula, captured on the James Webb Space Telescope, is displayed during a news conference at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Michael Ressler, Project Scientist for the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument, speaks in front of an image of galaxy cluster captured on the James Webb Space Telescope during a news conference at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Michael Ressler, Project Scientist for the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument, speaks in front of an image of the Carina Nebula, captured on the James Webb Space Telescope, during a news conference at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory director Laurie Leshin speaks before the showing of new images captured on the James Webb Space Telescope, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory director Laurie Leshin speaks before the showing new images captured on the James Webb Space Telescope Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
An image of the Southern Ring Nebula, captured on the James Webb Space Telescope, is shown at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
An image of Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies captured on the James Webb Space Telescope, is shown at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Attendees applaud after a presentation showing new images captured on the James Webb Space Telescope at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
An image of the Carina Nebula, captured on the James Webb Space Telescope, is shown at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
An image of the Carina Nebula, captured on the James Webb Space Telescope, is shown at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
NASA on Tuesday, July 12, began releasing the full set of full-colored “deep field” images and data of distant galaxies captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor of the Hubble telescope.
But this isn’t your everyday scroll through instagram. No, no. This is the epitome of “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away …” — as in what are now snapshots of a corner of the universe, capturing light from more than 13 billion years ago, from swirly white specs, faint galaxies, starlight against the darkness.
These images are showing the farthest humanity has ever peered outward into the stretches of the universe. And on Tuesday, one by one at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, four galactic shots from the telescope’s initial outward gazes were set to mesmerize even the veteran scientists at JPL who contributed to the mission that would bring those images back to Earth.
The “deep field” images — images that were taken with a long exposure time to capture faint objects — were being released simultaneously across several platforms – NASA Television, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and more.
Among them, a stunning planetary nebula, now known as the Southern Ring Nebula. The Southern Ring, or “Eight-Burst” nebula, is an expanding cloud of gas, surrounding a dying star. It is about approximately 2,000 light years away from Earth.
Some stars go out with a bang. In these images of the Southern Ring planetary nebula, @NASAWebb shows a dying star cloaked by dust and layers of light. Explore this star’s final performance at https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I #UnfoldTheUniverse. pic.twitter.com/dfzrpvrewQ
Then there was a “dance,” of sorts. As NASA described it, the telescope peered through the thick dust of Stephan’s Quintet, a galaxy cluster showing huge shockwaves and tidal tails.
“This is a front-row seat to galactic evolution,” wrote NASA on Twitter.
A James Webb Space Telescope photo provided by NASA shows Stephan’s Quintet, which consists of five galaxies, four of which interact, colliding into each other and pulling and stretching each other’s gravity. (NASA via The New York Times)
They include a view of a giant gaseous planet outside our solar system, more images of a nebula where stars are born and die in spectacular beauty and an update of a classic image of five tightly clustered galaxies that dance around each other.
This image provided by NASA on Monday, July 11, 2022, shows galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists can get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (NASA/ESA/CSA via AP)
Cosmic cliffs & a sea of stars. @NASAWebb reveals baby stars in the Carina Nebula, where ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds shape colossal walls of dust and gas. https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I #UnfoldTheUniversepic.twitter.com/dXCokBAYGQ
In this April 13, 2017 photo provided by NASA, technicians lift the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope using a crane at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (Laura Betz/NASA via AP, File)
Named after NASA’s second administrator James E. Webb, Webb is an international collaborative project between NASA, the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency. The $10 billion telescope – the world’s biggest and most powerful – is 21 feet wide and has a sunshield that is a size of a tennis court.
The telescope was rocketed to space last December from French Guiana in South America. It reached its lookout point 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth in January. Then the lengthy process began to align the mirrors, get the infrared detectors cold enough to operate and calibrate the science instruments, all protected by a sunshade the size of a tennis court that keeps the telescope cool.
The plan is to use the telescope to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the early days of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus.
This image provided by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, shows Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies captured by the Webb Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). (NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via AP)
Webb will be used to study stars and galaxies that were formed over 13.5 billion years ago with help from its instruments: Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), and Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) with the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS).
In other words, this is how galaxies looked more than 13 billion years ago.
Researchers can then study how galaxies evolve throughout the years.
The world got a preview on Monday when President Joe Biden unveiled the image of galaxy cluster called SMACS 0723 during a White House event.
Biden marveled at the image that he said showed “the oldest documented light in the history of the universe from over 13 billion — let me say that again — 13 billion years ago. It’s hard to fathom.
This 2015 artist’s rendering provided by Northrop Grumman via NASA shows the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (Northrop Grumman/NASA via AP, File)
NASA administrator Bill Nelson described the image — filled with white, yellow, orange and red swirls, streaks and spirals — as “one little speck of the universe”, according to the Associated Press.
The deep field of SMACS 0723, composited from several different images, took Webb 12.5 hours to produce. In comparison, the same process would have taken its predecessor, Hubble, weeks to achieve.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the chair of the National Space Council, lauded Webb as “one of humanity’s great engineering achievements” at the event, saying, “It will enhance what we know about the origins of our universe, our solar system and, possibly, life itself.”
Biden said that the telescope shows how America can lead by example by participating in an international collaborative effort in discovering more about the planet and climate, symbolizing American ingenuity.
“That’s why the federal government must invest in science and technology more than we have in the past,” he said.
The release of these images marks the start of Webb’s general science operations, where teams of scientists will use the telescope to do research and observations. The teams’ proposals were selected via a rigorous process over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of over 1000s proposals, only 286 proposals were selected.
Munina Lam is a freelancer for the Southern California News Group. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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