Thread: How the James Webb Space Telescope changed astronomy in its first year

After decades of planning and billions of dollars spent, here's how the new space observatory is already transforming the way we study the cosmos.

As Christmas approached last year, astronomers and space fans around the globe gathered to watch the much-anticipated launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. Though a wondrous piece of engineering, the telescope was not without its controversies — from being way over budget and behind schedule to being named after a former NASA administrator who has been accused of homophobia.*

Despite the debates over the telescope's naming and history, one thing has become abundantly clear this year — the scientific ability of JWST is remarkable. Beginning its science operations in July 2022, it has already allowed astronomers to get new views and uncover mysteries about a huge range of space topics.*

The most pressing aim of JWST is one of the most ambitious projects in the recent history of astronomy: to look back at some of the first galaxies, which formed when the universe was brand new.

As light takes time to travel from its source to us here on Earth, by looking at extremely distant galaxies, astronomers can, in effect, look back in time to see the earliest galaxies forming more than 13 billion years ago.*

Though there was some debate among astronomers over the accuracy of some of the first detections of early galaxies — JWST's instrument hadn't been fully calibrated, so there was some wiggle room over exactly how old the most distant galaxies were — recent findings have supported the idea that JWST has spotted galaxies from the first 350 million years after the Big Bang.

That makes these the earliest galaxies ever observed, and they had some surprises in store, such as being far brighter than expected. That means there's more for us to learn about how galaxies form in the early universe...

Rest of the story and pics:

How the James Webb Space Telescope changed astronomy in its first year - The Verge

Only an AWESOME God can create and awesome universe. Wow.