One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?

It was a $10 billion gift to the world, a machine that would enlighten us about our place in the universe.

A year ago today, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched on Christmas Eve. It took three decades to plan, design, and build.

Many people had concerns about whether this telescope, which is called the successor of the famous Hubble Space Telescope, will really live up to the expectations.

We had to wait a few months after its launch for its magnificent six-and-a-half meter diameter glass to open and focus itself. Meanwhile, its other systems also underwent testing and calibration.

But then it turned out to be exactly what was being said. The US, European and Canadian space agencies released the first color images of it in July.

The images ahead on this page are ones you may not have noticed.

The first thing you'll notice about the James Webb Telescope is that it's an infrared telescope. It can also see the sky in wavelengths of light that our eyes cannot see.

Astronomers use their various cameras to examine different parts of the universe, such as these towering towers of gas and dust.

Called the Pillars of Creation, these towers were also a favorite target of the Hubble Space Telescope. Estimate their size by considering that even if you could walk at the speed of light, it would take you many years to traverse the entire space.

One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?

The Carina Nebula

The Carina Nebula

This scene is called Cosmic Cliffs or Cosmic Hills. This is a corner of the Carina Nebula, another nursery for star birth.

The formation of these clouds here is due to the strong ultraviolet rays and winds that come from young and very hot stars.

The distance from one side of this image to the other is 15 lightyears. A light year is approximately 94.6 trillion kilometers.


Cartwheel Galaxy

One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?
The large galaxy on the right was discovered by the famous Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in 1940. Its wheel-like design is due to a head-on collision with another galaxy. The diameter of this galaxy is 145 thousand light years.


Planet Neptune

One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?

James Webb not only looks into the vastness of the universe but also observes things in our own solar system. It is the eighth planet from our sun, Neptune, with its rings. The small white dots around it are its moons, while the one-pointed star-like object above is also a moon called Triton. It is the largest satellite of Neptune. The visible corners on it are actually due to James Webb's glasses design.


The Orion Nebula

One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?

Orion is one of the most famous regions visible in the night sky. New stars are born in this region, 1350 light-years away from Earth. This image, taken by James Webb, shows an area called the Orion Bar, a wall of gases and dust.


Dimorphous

One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?

One of the most important space news stories this year was the collision of a NASA spacecraft with an asteroid Dimorphous. The goal was to see if such an impact could change the path of the 160-meter-wide space rock to test strategies for protecting Earth from potentially dangerous asteroids. James Webb took this photo of the 1,000 tons of debris thrown by the impact.


WR 140

One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?

This was one of the most interesting photographs taken by James Webb this year. WR is actually an acronym for Wolf Wright, a type of star that is nearing the end of its life. Wolf right stars eject gases into space, and a nearby star, not pictured, is mixing these winds to create dust. The dust shells you see coming out are 100 trillion kilometers out, which is 70,000 times the distance between our Earth and the Sun.


Phantom Galaxy

One year since the launch of the $10 billion NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, what we have seen so far?

The phantom galaxy, called M74, is known for its spectacular spiral arms. It's about 32 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pisces, and it's facing us, giving James Webb the best idea of its arms and their composition. The telescope's detectors can easily detect even the smallest waves of gas and dust.