Webb telescope reveals deepest image of early universe

WASHINGTON－Humanity's view of the distant cosmos will never be the same.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful to be placed in orbit, has revealed the clearest image to date of the early universe, said US space agency NASA on Monday.

The stunning shot, released in a White House briefing by US President Joe Biden, is overflowing with thousands of galaxies and features some of the faintest objects observed, colorized in blue, orange and white tones. Part of the image is light from not too long after the Big Bang, which was 13.8 billion years ago.

Known as Webb's First Deep Field, it shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, which acts as a gravitational lens, bending light from more distant galaxies behind it toward the observatory, in a cosmic magnification effect.

Webb's primary imager NIRCam－which operates in the near-infrared wavelength spectrum because light from the early universe has been stretched out by the time it reaches us－has brought these faint background galaxies into focus.

Webb compiled the composite shot in 12.5 hours, achieving well beyond what its predecessor the Hubble Space Telescope could in weeks.

"Fantastic－galaxies upon galaxies upon galaxies," Jonathan Lunine, chair of the astronomy department at Cornell University, told Agence France-Presse, rejoicing with the rest of the global astronomy community.

"Even though this is by no means the farthest Webb can see, it's the deepest image ever taken, and shows the power of this remarkable telescope: tremendous sensitivity, a broad range of wavelengths, and sharp image clarity."

Avi Loeb, a professor at Harvard University, explained the reddish arcs are ancient galaxies, while the light-colored circles and ellipses belong to the younger galaxy cluster in the foreground.

The next set of images was expected to be released on Tuesday, revealing details about the atmosphere of faraway planets, "stellar nurseries" where stars form, galaxies locked in a dance of close encounters, and the cloud of gas around a dying star.

Webb was launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on Dec 25 to probe the structures and origins of the universe. Webb is NASA's largest and most powerful space science telescope ever constructed.

Agencies Via Xinhua