Have you ever looked at the sky through a telescope? A telescope makes stars and planets appear closer to Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope, or Webb, is the most powerful space telescope ever built. It was made to help scientists observe the universe in new ways. The Webb was launched in December 2021. Six months later, the first images taken in space by the Webb were released. The pictures show the most-distant objects ever seen. One of the first images reveals large white galaxies. They are part of the SMACS 0723 cluster. The cluster is over 5 billion light-years from Earth. It is the same age as the Sun and Earth.
Scientists are using the James Webb Space Telescope to explore the universe. They want to learn more about the formation of stars. The Webb uses infra-red light to see details that were previously hidden from our view. Its powerful camera can cut through thick clouds of dust and gas. The Webb captured an image of a star-forming region. The region is called the Carina Nebula. Scientists say it is the most active star formation region. The colorful ridge of the region looks like cliffs filled with bright new stars.
What Do You Think? What bright stars can you see in the night sky?
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Photo Credit: (t)NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team,(b)NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
