Young Coloradans starstruck by James Webb Space Telescope's stunning images
It's a small world after all…really! A handful of new, stunning images from the James Webb Telescope show our planet is merely a speck in the vast universe.
NASA released dazzling infrared images on Tuesday, taking the world back in time.
"We're literally looking 13 billion years into the past," said Ka Chun Yu, curator of space science at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Space enthusiasts of all ages visited the DMNS to see the fascinating photos captured by the James Webb Telescope. Yu explained the telescope is helping scientists understand the evolution of the universe, and one of Webb's first images is the deepest infrared image of the distant universe to date.
"You're basically seeing a speck of sky that's equivalent to a grain of sand that you hold out at arm's length," Yu said of the galaxy cluster photo called Webb's First Deep Field. "It's a tiny patch of sky, but you're literally seeing tens of thousands of galaxies all the way toward the beginning of the universe."
From cosmic cliffs to colorful galaxies, and every glittering landscape in between, the images have earthlings starstruck. Especially the young ones who can't help but wonder what else lies beyond Earth's sun, moon, and stars.
"I know I might be an alien nerd, but I'm pretty sure there's aliens," said 8-year-old Jackson Zsupnik.
It's that curiosity and imagination that Calvin Pennamon, whose work with Northrop Grumman helped develop the James Webb Telescope, is so thrilled to see.
"We want to keep that inspiration going," Pennamon told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann. "James Webb was over ten years in development. That means the kids walking around here, they're going to have something better for us. They're going to build a better telescope than what we're seeing here."
A deep look into the past, with bright-eyed hope for our future.
"I feel like like there's oxygen," Jackson said, pointing to the image of the cosmic cliffs, "and if humans would be able to transport humans to that galaxy, that would be crazy since there's like oxygen, nitrogen plus like a million stars."
