JWST Peers Across the Light-years

Wow. I don’t know what else to say. This is an amazing image from JWST and its near-infrared light-sensitive camera. There are 21 stars here, and everything else is a galaxy. There are thousands of galaxies shown, from the cluster called SMACS 0723 to tiny, distant ones behind it. The gravitational lens created by the cluster is magnifying and distorting the view of the more distant objects.

A few details: the image shows SMACS 0723 as it looked 4.6 billion years ago. That light left the cluster when our solar system was still forming. The most distant galaxies appear as they looked before even the Milky Way Galaxy had formed. Think about that for a minute. Nearly everything here existed for billions of years, and we’re only now just getting to see it. Pretty awe-inspiring.

What also pleases me is that the President of the U.S. took such an interest in this image that he wanted to be involved in unveiling it. A leader with an interest in science, and in particular astronomy, is a good thing.

Now, we wait for tomorrow’s image unveiling. It should be simply amazing!

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