NASA Releases First Images From James Webb Space Telescope

In an event held with the presence of President Joe Biden, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released the first color images of the universe obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope.

RELATED:

James Webb Telescope Reaches Destination in Space

The stunning images are of the Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan's Quinty of Galaxies, the Carina Nebula, and the spectrum of exoplanet WASP-96b.

The busy image with hundreds of specks, streaks, spirals and swirls of white, yellow, orange and red is only "one little speck of the universe," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

The Southern Ring Nebula is about 2,500 light-years away. The Webb telescope will make it possible to understand which molecules are present in the nebula and where they are found throughout the layers of gas and dust.

NASA also obtained an incredible new view of Stephan's Quintet, a collection of five galaxies located 290 million light-years away. Astronomer Giovanna Giardino explained that four of these galaxies perform "a cosmic dance" carried by their gravitational forces.

This image, which also shows matter surrounding a black hole, covers about one-fifth the diameter of the Moon and is created from nearly a thousand individual image files.

The Webb telescope was launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on Dec. 25, 2021, to probe structures and origins of the universe. With a 6.5-meter primary mirror, the large infrared telescope will study every phase of cosmic history, from within the solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.