"First-ever View of the Universe 13.5 Billion Years Ago"... Webb Telescope's Debut Work Stuns [Reading Science]

US President Joe Biden Holds Pre-Release Event on the 11th (Local Time) to Personally Unveil
NASA, "Deepest Infrared Image Ever Viewed, Releases 4 More Additional Images"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "Humanity has looked into the farthest and deepest space in history."

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which will reveal the secrets of the primordial universe and the existence of extraterrestrial life, has finally presented its first 'work.' It is the first-ever observed image of a galaxy formed 13.5 billion years ago, during the early universe. It is regarded as humanity opening a new eye.

◆Galaxy Cluster Photographed 4.6 Billion Light-Years Away

On the afternoon of the 11th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden held a pre-release event at the White House and unveiled the first image taken by JWST. Vice President Kamala Harris also attended, making it a grand celebration. This image was captured by JWST using its 6.5-meter primary mirror, photographing the SMACS 0723 galaxy cluster located 4.6 billion light-years from Earth. This galaxy cluster is famous for its strong gravity acting as a so-called 'gravitational lens,' magnifying and bending the light from the early universe shortly after the Big Bang.

The image shows thousands of massive galaxies scattered like grains of sand. Each galaxy consists of hundreds of billions of stars. While the general public might see it as just a 'star photo,' astronomers are astounded. Dr. Kang Sung-joo, an astronomy expert at the National Gwacheon Science Museum, explained, "Although the Hubble Space Telescope had previously captured the same galaxy cluster, the faintly visible objects are now clearly imaged, and there are at least thousands of times more galaxies behind the SMACS 0723 cluster. The deeper the red color, the earlier the galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang. This is humanity's first-ever achievement."

◆Observation of Galaxies from 13.5 Billion Years Ago

Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, said, "Our universe is 13.8 billion years old, and it appears that galaxies formed 13.5 billion years ago have been observed," adding, "We have only observed a portion of the universe the size of a grain of sand held at arm's length. It clearly shows how vast and distant the universe is."

When the high-resolution image is zoomed in, the internal structures of the galaxies are clearly visible. The bent and curved red spheres in the photo are due to gravitational lensing, where strong gravity bends light. Objects with distinct light cross patterns (spikes) are stars relatively close to Earth. The white spheres belong to galaxies within the SMACS 0723 cluster. The red spheres are galaxies located farther away than the SMACS 0723 cluster. The color intensity varies with distance. The darkest red spheres are analyzed to be galaxies formed in the early universe, approximately 13.5 billion light-years from Earth.

President Biden called it a "historic day," celebrating, "This shows that America can achieve great things. (This image) observes something no one has ever been to or seen before." NASA also stated, "This is the clearest infrared image of the farthest universe ever captured," adding, "It is a composite image made from various wavelengths taken over 12.5 hours using JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam)." NASA plans to release four additional images starting at 10 a.m. the next day (11 p.m. KST on the 12th). Earlier, on the 10th, a list of five targets for public release, including the Carina Nebula in the southern hemisphere, was announced in advance.

***About the James Webb Space Telescope

JWST is a joint project by the United States, the European Union, and Canada, launched on December 25, 2021. The production cost alone was about $10 billion (approximately 13 trillion KRW). Its primary mirror, over 6.5 meters in diameter, is seven times larger in area than the Hubble Space Telescope. It can collect much more light, with observational performance known to be over 100 times better. While the Hubble Telescope mainly observed short-wavelength visible light, JWST is designed for long-wavelength infrared observation. It can observe farther into space than any telescope before. Experts expect JWST to provide new observational data in areas of astronomy and space research that have been difficult to study, such as medium-sized black holes and the rate of cosmic expansion. It is tasked with capturing signals from the early universe right after the Big Bang and investigating exoplanets and extraterrestrial life. Its target lifespan is 10 years, with a maximum operational period expected to be up to 20 years.