James Webb Space Telescope Snaps a Spectacular Photo of Distant Star

A Spectacular new photograph taken by the James Webb Space Telescope shows that the observatory orbiting the Sun is on track to begin astronomical observations, NASA officials and scientists said during a news conference. 

A photo showing a distant star behind the galaxy, with a properly placed 21.5-foot primary mirror of a $10 billion truck-sized telescope, collects and illuminates skylights on onboard imaging equipment. 

Approximately three months after the telescope was launched on December 25, mission scientists adjusted the segments to produce a single unified image. Now mission scientists are confident that Webb's optics will work as intended.

Marshall Perrin, Webb’s deputy telescope scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, said the "generic anonymous" star in the image is about 100 times fainter than the human eye can see. According to NASA, when you use a contrast enhancement filter, the infrared rays captured in the image are invisible to humans, so they look reddish in the picture.

Over the next two months, mission scientists will align Webb's mirrors with the four observatory-mounted devices for final pointing adjustments. Scientific operation is scheduled to begin in July after the telescope is fully operational.