Tuesday, 2nd August 2022 at 11:45amThe Startling Power Of The James Webb Space Telescope

If you haven’t yet checked out the stunning images sent back from the James Webb Space Telescope, it’s time you stop whatever you’re doing and Google them.

The images, including shots of the oldest galaxy ever seen, reveal astonishing astrological objects previously out of reach.

A collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, Webb is the US$ 10 billion successor of the Hubble Space Telescope, which was put into service in 1990.

Webb features a 6.6m-diameter mirror to Hubble's 2.4m-diameter mirror, making it 100 times more powerful.

Whereas the Hubble orbits the Earth, Webb sits at the L2 Lagrange point, 1.5 million km away, remaining fixed in the same location in relation to the Earth and the Sun.

This enables its tennis court-sized solar shield to block light from the Sun, Earth, and Moon, cooling it, crucial for an infrared telescope.

How does Webb work?

Webb’s ultra-powerful instruments detect light from distant corners of the universe. Due to the time it takes light to travel to us, the further away the object, the further back in time we are looking.

One of the images Webb returned is of the oldest galaxy ever seen, forming only 235 million years after the Big Bang (13.8 billion years ago), meaning the galaxy is 98% the age of the universe.

What’s next for Webb?

The Webb will doubtless continue to surprise and excite us with compelling photos, giving us new access to the darkness beyond.

A core hope is that it identifies a planet with airborne gases like those of the Earth, a striking concept that could speak of biology’s presence.

What then?

Stay tuned to the latest developments by following the James Webb Space Telescope on IG @nasawebb