BULLETIN

Countdown to Webb’s first images

After numerous hitches, the 6.5m telescope is finally ready to observe

After six months of travelling, unfolding, calibrating and double checking, the James Webb Space Telescope is now fully operational and ready to begin exploring the infrared Universe. By the time you’re reading this, the first science images should have already been released to the public, a first glimpse at what promises to be a deluge of discovery.

If all goes to plan, the telescope will release its first ‘teaser suite’ of images on 12 July to demonstrate its capabilities before entering its full science phase.

“As we near the end of preparing the observatory for science, we are on the precipice of an incredibly exciting period of discovery about our Universe, ” says Eric Smith, Webb’s program scientist. “The release of Webb’s first