The JWST conducts diverse research on the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, in particular the Solar System and the Milky Way, exoplanets and celestial bodies that have the potential to harbor life.
JWST was developed in collaboration with NASA, ESA and CSA and launched on December 25, 2021. It is considered the most powerful space telescope ever built and enables detailed observations of the depths of the universe.
Thanks to its devices that can observe in infrared wavelengths far from the influence of the Earth's atmosphere, the JWST obtains high-resolution images and provides new information about many regions of the universe that have not been observed before.
It compiled the record of the clearest image of the universe to date, the developments that followed, and the telescope's outstanding discoveries.
The deepest, most detailed image of the universe
About 5.5 months after its launch, JWST has captured the deepest and most detailed full-color image of the universe to date, including galaxies billions of light-years from Earth.
While this image, created as a result of 12.5 hours of observation, had a great impact on the world public and in scientific circles, this step showed that James Webb could achieve his first goal and demonstrate the expected scientific achievement.
The image showed the galaxy cluster “SMACS 0723,” about 4.6 billion light-years from Earth, and distant galaxies from about 13.1 billion years after the Big Bang in never-before-seen detail.
The clearest image of the universe was presented to the public for the first time by then US President Joe Biden at the White House ceremony on July 11, 2022.
In his speech here, Biden explained that the photos in question will be an indicator of U.S. power, saying, “These photos will show the entire world that America can do great things and, most importantly, remind American children that nothing is beyond our capacity.” gave his assessment.
NASA Director Bill Nelson said in his speech: “A hundred years ago we thought there was only one galaxy. Today that number is unlimited. There are billions of stars in our galaxy. In addition, there are billions of galaxies containing billions of stars.” he said.
NASA also released additional full-color images and spectroscopic data captured by the telescope the next day, on July 12, 2022.
Discovery of the most distant galaxies in the universe
The publication of the clearest picture of the universe had a great impact on world opinion and scientific circles, and also paved the way for new discoveries about the early periods of the universe.
Thanks to JWST's high-resolution observations, in 2024, scientists observed the galaxy named “JADES-GS-z14-0,” which formed about 300 million years after the Big Bang.
“JADES-GS-z14-0,” then recorded as the most distant galaxy, helped reevaluate existing models of the early universe by revealing that the first galaxies were larger and brighter than expected.
The JWST observations in 2024 also revealed strong evidence for the presence of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0, then the most distant known galaxy.
JWST later discovered the galaxy named “MoM-z14”. This galaxy, which formed about 280 million years after the Big Bang, is considered the most distant galaxy confirmed as of 2026.
This discovery provided new evidence that the first stars and galaxies may have formed earlier than previously thought.
Unusual chemicals in early galaxies
While scientists assumed that only hydrogen, helium and small amounts of lithium were present in the early universe, JWST observations in 2024 revealed important new insights into this period.
The detection of more nitrogen, as well as helium, neon and carbon, in some early galaxies compared to the Sun suggested that these galaxies may have evolved in a shorter time than previously thought.
This chemical diversity in the Universe has been interpreted to mean that current information about the evolutionary process of galaxies may be insufficient.
Discovery of early faint galaxies
JWST also observed galaxies that were normally too faint to be seen by taking advantage of the “gravitational lensing” effect created by galaxy clusters.
These observations showed that there were many small galaxies in the early universe that formed after the Big Bang and emitted four times more light than expected.
The galaxies in question are believed to have played an important role in ending the cosmic “Dark Ages” after the “Big Bang”.
Thanks to images from JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), a star called “Earendel” was also discovered, which is twice as hot as the Sun, about a million times brighter and more massive, and is due to the “lensing” effect of the galaxy cluster called “WHL0137-08”.
Earendel dated it to a billion years after the “Big Bang.”
“Little bright red dots” of the early universe
Many previously unknown celestial objects that scientists describe as “small, bright red dots” were discovered in the JWST images.
Although the red dots in question were originally thought to be giant clusters of galaxies, they are now believed to be hydrogen gas emitting light as it rotates around a supermassive black hole at speeds of thousands of kilometers per second.
However, it was also found that the objects in question had properties specific to both star clusters and galaxy nuclei.
While this situation has led to discussions in the scientific world about various scenarios, some researchers believe that these structures could be star clusters turning into galactic nuclei.
Observed multi-planet system “HR 8799”
Scientists have observed the multiplanet system “HR 8799” at a distance of 130 light-years, which has long been an important target for the study of planet formation.
Researchers discovered the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system using James Webb's coronagraph, which studies distant planets around stars.
It said the results provided strong evidence that the four giant planets of the roughly 30-million-year-old system, such as Jupiter and Saturn, were slowly forming solid cores.
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