Biden Shares Spectacular Deep Space Telescope Image Ahead Of Today's Big NASA Event
NASA is set to release the first set of full-color images of deep space taken with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) during a live broadcast event today. However, yesterday President Biden offered up a surprise unveil, sharing the very first official image (or more to come) during a briefing at the White House. "This is the oldest documented light in the history of the universe from 13 billion—let me say that again—13 billion years ago, Biden said.
For those who have been waiting on the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA gave an early preview yesterday. The image that was shared was part of an event held at the White House that included the President of the United States. While the event was broadcast live, it ended short of sharing any other photos ahead of today's scheduled reveal event. NASA also shared the first image on its Twitter feed following the broadcasted briefing with President Biden.
The image shared with President Biden is of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. It includes thousands of galaxies, including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared. NASA says that "this slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm's length by someone on the ground."
Regardless of how you view the images, it is great to finally arrive at the moment they can be shared. The journey of JWST has taken it nearly a million miles from Earth, but it has truly just begun. We look forward to many more images captured by this incredible space telescope, and all that it will reveal. Be sure to keep checking back with HotHardware, as we will continue to bring you the latest with JWST.
Top Image Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA
