Space

First Images From the James Webb Space Telescope Released

JUL 12 2022·Updated SEP 20 2022

#Space

First Images From the James Webb Space Telescope Released

Story

Image credit: USA Today

The Facts

The first image from NASA's $10B James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), shared Mon. by US Pres. Biden, shows the deepest view of the cosmos ever captured, with thousands of galaxies in unprecedented resolution.
USA Today
Also released were vivid images of the Carina Nebula, a group of five galaxies known as Stephan's Quintet, the Southern Ring Nebula, and an exoplanet around a distant star which has indications of water in its atmosphere.
CNN
The JWST, planned since the early 1990s, was launched on Christmas Day 2021 and it orbits the sun a million miles away from Earth.
NPR
A major goal is to look farther back in space and time than ever before. NASA's astronomers believe they could come as close as a few hundred million years from the "Big Bang" approx. 13.8 billion years ago.
CBS News
The JWST is 100 times as powerful as NASA's legacy Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in operation for more than 30 years. It's an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.
wsj
The telescope was named after James Webb, NASA's second administrator, who served from 1961 to 1968.
USA Today

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

They're finally here! It's a historic day for science and technology when all people can experience the first gorgeous images from the JWST, after decades of waiting. The telescope will fundamentally change our understanding of the universe. This is a deeply needed moment for America and all of humanity.

USA Today

Narrative B

This is a massive achievement but was also a massive risk. An $11B investment into a single platform is a tremendous gamble - if anything should ever happen to the JWST it could set astronomy back by a generation. NASA needs to find more cost-effective, safe, and innovative ways to spur future innovation in the astrophysics field.