We Have Never Seen Such A Distant And Stark Universe. James Webb Telescope Sent The First Colour Photo

The first image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope captures the "deepest and sharpest image" of the early universe. The galaxies in the photo are 4.6 billion years old and their mass distorts objects far beyond them, NASA said on Monday.

The first color image of the telescope, unveiled by US President Joe Biden at a press conference at the White House, captures thousands of space galaxies. "This telescope is one of mankind's greatest technical achievements," Biden declared at a press conference.

This image, known as the "deep field", captures many stars, with huge galaxies in the foreground and faint and very distant galaxies shining through the background in some places.

"Light travels at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second. And that light that you see on one of those little specks has been traveling for over 13 billion years," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, writes BBC.

In the foreground of the image is a galaxy cluster known as SMACS 0723, which acts as a "gravitational lens" to distort space, making it possible to amplify the light coming from the more distant galaxies behind the cluster.

It is the most distant view into the universe in terms of space and time, as it captures the period shortly after the creation of the universe and at the same time its edge. "This is the oldest documented light in the history of the universe from over 13 billion years ago," Biden said during the unveiling.

This light is thus only 800 million years younger than the so-called big bang - the theoretical point of explosion after which the universe came into being about 13.8 billion years ago. "It's a new window into the history of our universe, and today we can glimpse the first light shining through that window," Biden added.

NASA will publish four more images taken by the James Webb telescope, among which will be, for example, a photo of a gas giant located outside our solar system or a nebula in which stars are formed and disappear.

The James Webb Telescope was launched into space last December. It is the largest and most powerful space telescope that has been launched into space and was designed to look through the cosmos to the very beginning of the known universe. The price of this telescope is ten billion dollars.