First Images from James Webb Telescope... "Thousands of Galaxies Sparkle Like Grains of Sand" [Reading Science]

President Biden to Make Direct Announcement on the 11th Afternoon (Local Time)

The first image from the James Webb Space Telescope.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] On the morning of the 11th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden personally unveiled the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

On that day, President Biden held a briefing at the White House and directly revealed some of the images captured by JWST. The images were taken using JWST's 6.5-meter diameter primary mirror, capturing the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. This galaxy cluster is located 4 billion light-years (approximately 9.46 trillion km) away from Earth. Due to its strong gravity, it acts as a so-called "gravitational lens," magnifying and bending the light from the early universe that occurred shortly after the Big Bang. The image shows massive galaxies scattered like grains of sand.

At the event, President Biden called it a "historic day," saying, "It shows that America can accomplish great things. (This image) observes something no one has ever been to or seen before."

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) explained, "This is the clearest infrared image of the most distant universe ever captured," adding, "Thousands of galaxies were observed simultaneously in JWST's field of view for the first time." NASA further stated, "This image is a detailed composite of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, which was formed 4.6 billion years ago," and "It is a composite made up of images at various wavelengths taken over a total of 12.5 hours by JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam)."

NASA plans to officially release the images taken by JWST starting at 10 a.m. (local time) on the 12th. Previously, on the 10th, a list of five targets for public release, including the southern hemisphere constellation Carina Nebula, was announced in advance.

JWST cost about $10 billion (approximately 13 trillion KRW) to build. With a primary mirror over 6.5 meters in diameter, it can observe the universe farther than any telescope before, using not only visible light but also infrared. Experts expect JWST to provide new observational data in areas that have been difficult to study in astronomy and space research, such as medium-sized black holes and the rate of cosmic expansion. It is also tasked with capturing signals from the early universe shortly after the Big Bang and investigating exoplanets and extraterrestrial life.