13 Jul 2022

Peering 13 Billion Years into the past

From Lately, 10:30 pm on 13 July 2022

It may have felt a little smaller down here on earth today after NASA released more stunning images taken by the James Webb Space telescope.

The images show billions of years of cosmic evolution in what has been hailed as the beginning of a new era of space observation.

This image released by NASA on July 12, 2022, from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) shows a landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars which is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the JWST, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth. - The JWST is the most powerful telescope launched into space and it reached its final orbit around the sun, approximately 930,000 miles from Earths orbit, in January, 2022. The technological improvements of the JWST and distance from the sun will allow scientists to see much deeper into our universe with greater detail. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NASA" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Photo: AFP

While NASA is the main player behind the 10 billion dollar telescope it has also been a international collaboration between multiple space agencies and scientific institutes

Head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency Dr Caroline Harper chats to Karyn about her reaction to those images and what the UK's involvement in the development of the telescope has been.