James Webb Space Telescope Image: US President Joe Biden previewed the first image
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris previewed the first image taken by world's largest and most powerful space telescope- the James Webb Telescope- at the White House today. The image was released ahead of NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) releasing full-colour images and spectroscopic data obtained from the telescope tomorrow.
The image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm's length on the ground and shows thousands of galaxies and the faintest objects ever observed.
Releasing the image, US President Joe Biden said, "Today is a historic day... This is a historic moment, for America and all of humanity.
US Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her excitement during the preview of the images. "This is a very exciting moment for all of us. Today is an exciting new chapter for the universe," she said.
???? Sneak a peek at the deepest & sharpest infrared image of the early universe ever taken — all in a day's work for the Webb telescope. (Literally, capturing it took less than a day!) This is Webb's first image released as we begin to #UnfoldTheUniverse: https://t.co/tlougFWg8Bpic.twitter.com/Y7ebmQwT7j
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) July 11, 2022
NASA administrator Bill Nelson said after releasing the first image from the James Webb Telescope, "We are looking back at more than 13 billion years. The light that you are seeing on one of these little specks has been travelling for 13 billion years."
"The release of these first images marks the official beginning of Webb's science operations, which will continue to explore the mission's key science themes," NASA said about the images.
Images from the $10 billion James Webb Telescope, which are being released after a six-month process of remotely unfurling the observatory's various components, usher in a revolutionary era of astronomical discovery.
NASA revealed James Webb's first five cosmic targets on Friday. These include: the Carina Nebula, WASP-96b, the Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan's Quintet and SMACS 0723. The targets were selected by an international committee, including members from NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
Although, James Webb Space Telescope mission- launched into space in December 2021- was originally expected to last for 10 years, NASA said that it has enough excess fuel capability to operate for 20 years.
