“On its first anniversary, the James Webb Space Telescope has already delivered upon its promise to unfold the universe, gifting humanity with a breathtaking treasure trove of images and science that will last for decades,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. While the initial images provided a sample of Webb’s capabilities, the telescope’s first year of cosmic observations has been nothing short of awe-inspiring, and the discoveries it has enabled have both encouraged and surprised astronomers. The telescope cuts through obscuring gas and dust across the cosmos to reveal previously unseen features and showcase other celestial details with advanced precision. Webb captures the universe in infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye. Thousands of engineers, scientists, and leaders poured their life’s passion into this mission, and their efforts will continue to improve our understanding of the origins of the universe – and our place in it.” “Webb is an investment in American innovation but also a scientific feat made possible with NASA’s international partners that share a can-do spirit to push the boundaries of what is known to be possible. Every new image is a new discovery, empowering scientists around the globe to ask and answer questions they once could never dream of,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a statement. “In just one year, the James Webb Space Telescope has transformed humanity’s view of the cosmos, peering into dust clouds and seeing light from faraway corners of the universe for the very first time. The space observatory’s first glimpses of the universe included distant galaxies, the atmospheric composition of an exoplanet and a stellar nursery, where stars are born. The most powerful telescope ever sent to space, Webb launched on December 25, 2021, and NASA shared its first set of scintillating images on July 12, 2022. Our own Sun experienced a phase like this, long ago, and now we have the technology to see the beginning of another’s star’s story,” said Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland and research scientist at NASA, in a statement. “Webb’s image of Rho Ophiuchi allows us to witness a very brief period in the stellar lifecycle with new clarity. What’s ever out there, we’re going to see it.Saturn’s rings shine in new Webb telescope photo I turned to a colleague and said ‘Hey, we did it. “So as an engineer, when I saw it, I was very, very excited and it was a special moment for me because I realize that we had designed James Webb to see the first stars that turned on in our universe. And in 12 hours, we broke Hubble’s record,” he explained. The Hubble took a similar image to that, but Hubble took 14 days to take its image. “My favorite image was the Deep Field, the one that showed the deepest galaxies. Menzel also shared his favorite image captured by the powerful telescope. There’s about 50 new stars in that cloud of gas and we believe we’re watching the same processes that gave birth to our sun about four and a half billion years ago.” “It’s a region where gas and dust are actually falling in on themselves, condensing, and giving birth to new stars. “It’s the closest star-forming region to our own sun and our Milky Way,” Menzel said. Good Morning Arizona’s Colton Shone spoke with NASA engineer Mike Menzel to show us a new photo of a star-forming region. The images captured millions of miles from Earth have begun revolutionizing astronomy. Arizona played a key role in making the photos possible, with infrared cameras designed and developed at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Wednesday marks one year since the release of the first set of breathtaking images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
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