Biden releases the first full-color picture of far-off galaxies taken by the Webb satellite observatory

• U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled the first image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope—an image of a galaxy cluster offering the most in-depth look 
• The $9 billion Webb observatory was created to see through the cosmos to the beginning of the known universe, ushering in a breakthrough age of astronomical discovery.
• The 4.6 billion-year-old galaxy cluster known as SMACS 0723 was visible in the image presented by Vice President Biden and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled the first image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope—an image of a galaxy cluster offering the most in-depth look at the early universe ever seen—taking a break from political pressures to bask in the splendor of the cosmos.

On the eve of a wider release of photographs and spectrographic data that NASA planned to present on Tuesday at the Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Maryland, the White House provided a sneak preview of Webb’s first high-resolution, full-color image.

The $9 billion Webb observatory was created to see through the cosmos to the beginning of the known universe, ushering in a breakthrough age of astronomical discovery. It is the largest and most potent space scientific telescope ever deployed.

The 4.6 billion-year-old galaxy cluster known as SMACS 0723 was visible in the image presented by Vice President Biden and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Its combined mass works as a “gravitational lens,” distorting space to vastly magnify the light from more distant galaxies behind it.

According to Nelson, at least one of the older, fainter specks of light visible in the photo’s “background”—a composite of images of various wavelengths of light—dates back more than 13 billion years. It is therefore only 800 million years younger than the Big Bang, the alleged flashpoint that began the known universe’s expansion some 13.8 billion years ago.

Prior to the image’s release, Biden remarked, “It’s a new window into the history of our cosmos. “And now we’ll catch a glimpse of the first light to pass through that opening: light coming from other planets that are orbiting stars that are far further distant from the sun. I find it remarkable.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the head of the United States National Space Council, accompanied him in the Old Executive Office Building in the White House complex.

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