YouTube Gold: The James Webb Telescope Is Almost Ready To Go To Work

Miraculous things are now weeks away

The James Web Space Telescope was launched at Christmas and now sits in a LaGrange point nearly a million miles from earth.

All 18 mirrors are now roughly in alignment and NASA is starting to test the device. And look at the first picture that has come back. It’s pretty amazing.

The main image is of a star called 2MASS J17554042+6551277 and the image is unbelievably clear. But what’s not immediately apparent is what’s in the background: on its first image, the JWST took a shot of billion year old galaxies merging.

And this is just the first image. They’re still tweaking it. It’s not going to be fully functional until this summer.

Amazing things are coming soon.

• See the James Webb Space Telescope’s First Picture
• James Webb telescope sends back new image of star
• A fully aligned James Webb Space Telescope captures a glorious image of a star
• Daily briefing: Thrilling image from the James Webb Space Telescope
• Stunning James Webb Star Image Shows Telescope Is Exceeding Expectations