Some scientists are unhappy about the James Webb Space Telescope’s data being made public immediately, but these stunning images should be for everyone, says Jacob Aron
Space | Comment 24 August 2022
By Jacob Aron
Simone Rotella
WHEN the first image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was unveiled by US president Joe Biden on 11 July, I was stunned. Even the low-quality video stream I was watching made it clear that JWST’s “deep field” picture, containing thousands of galaxies and billions of stars, was something special, but the real fun began once I downloaded the high-resolution image and could explore the cosmos at leisure.
I wasn’t alone – my Twitter feed was full of people sharing their favourite finds and revelling in the sheer majesty of it all. And beyond the pretty picture, teams of scientists around the world had already …