NASA scientists are thrilled with images from the James Webb Telescope

Just over six months have passed since a European rocket launched the James Webb Space Telescope into orbit. Now, there are less than two weeks until the first images taken by NASA’s complex next-generation equipment are revealed to the world by the agency.

Some of them have already been captured and processed by the team of scientists, and others are yet to come until the great opening day of this new era of space observations.

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“Images are being taken now,” Thomas Zurbuchen, who directs NASA’s science programs, said at a press conference Wednesday. “There’s already some amazing science in the box, and a few more have yet to be taken as we go along. We are in the process of obtaining the creation data of the history of the universe.

According to the plan, the first images taken by the James Webb Telescope will be released on July 12, at 11:30 a.m. (GMT), on all of the agency’s digital platforms, which include the website, social media, NASA TV and YouTube. channel, in addition to the application.

Among the sightings to be revealed is “the deepest picture ever taken of the universe,” in the words of agency administrator Bill Nelson. Although he did not specify which objects in the early universe the telescope focused on, or the age of those targets, he said the images will show the first objects ever seen. “It’s further than humanity has ever looked before, and we’re only just beginning to understand what Webb can and will do,” he added.

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According to the website Ars-Technica, anyone who has had access to this locked-up mystery says they were moved by what they saw. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, for example, revealed that she was impressed with the images Webb has produced so far. “What I saw moved me, as a scientist, as an engineer and as a human being.”

Zurbuchen said he, too, was impressed with what the telescope had proven capable of and almost cried when he saw the first photos taken by the spacecraft. “It’s really hard not to look at the universe in a new light and have a deeply personal moment,” he said. “It’s a moving moment when you see nature suddenly revealing some of its secrets.”

These words further heighten the anticipation of those who were already curious and anxious. But if we wait 20 years for that, two weeks is nothing. Wait, my heart!

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