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Technology: James Webb Telescope Releases First Images

By Dick Weisinger

Over the last few days, NASA has begun to release photos taken by the recently launched $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The telescope is a next-generation telescope following the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST is about half the weight of Hubble but has a collecting area that is more than six times the size of Hubble’s. JWST is designed to see near-infrared astronomy but can also detect orange and red visible light, and also mid-infrared light.

The first scientific images from JWST are being released today and can be seen on NASA’s website. JWST is the result of an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency.

The goals of JWST are to observe: the first light of the universe, galaxies from the early universe, the birth of stars and protoplanetary systems, and planets. JWST now becomes NASA’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.

From NYTimes: Stephan’s Quintet, showing five galaxies, four of which interact, colliding into each other and pulling and stretching each others’ gravity.
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