The James Webb Space Telescope has long been hailed as a cosmic pioneer that will visit the deepest corners of space. As it turned out, this description from the officials is quite literal. On Wednesday, NASA confirmed that the first images from the telescope will be the “deepest images” ever taken of the universe.
The images will be released on July 12 starting at 10:30 a.m. ET accompanied by a live stream event.
“Images are being taken now,” NASA Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen said during a press conference on Wednesday. “There’s already some amazing science in the box, and some that haven’t been taken in yet as we go forward. We’re in the middle of the data jotting process for the history-making process.”
The official added that he was in tears when he saw some of the first photos that had been returned from the project.
“It’s really hard not to look at the universe from a new perspective and not just a very personal moment,” he added. “It’s an emotional moment when you see nature suddenly release some of its secrets. I would like you to imagine that and look forward to it.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was also on the call, confirming that Webb’s telescope images show parts of the universe never before seen by researchers and astronomers, not to mention the general public.
“If you think about it, it’s further than humanity has ever moved,” Nelson said. “And we are just beginning to understand what Webb can and will do. It will explore objects in the solar system and the atmospheres of exoplanets orbiting other stars, giving us clues as to whether their atmospheres are similar to ours.”
The Webb Telescope cost NASA and the European Space Agency about $10 billion to build and deploy. Current NASA estimates are that the telescope will be operational for at least the next 10 years.
“Our goals with Webb’s first images and data are to showcase the telescope’s powerful instruments and preview the upcoming science mission,” astronomer Klaus Pontopedan, a Webb project scientist at STScI, said of the images previously. “They are sure to deliver the long-awaited ‘wow’ to astronomers and the public.”
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