James Webb Telescope Takes World’s Most Expensive Selfie

One million miles away from Earth, Webb sent back its first calibration photos.

Friday, February 11, 2022 at 02:53 PM ET

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This “selfie” was created using a specialized pupil imaging lens inside of the NIRCam instrument that was designed to take images of the primary mirror segments instead of images of space. [Photo: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has transmitted its first two images, including an "outer-space selfie" and 18 separate views of a single star, as part of its mirror alignment process.
These initial images, captured by the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), are critical steps to calibrate the telescope's 18 primary mirror segments to function as one cohesive unit.
The Webb team is pleased with this successful start, anticipating high-quality scientific images superior to Hubble once calibration is complete, with the first expected this summer.

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The James Webb Space Telescope sent its first two images back to Earth—a single star and a kind of outer-space selfie.

Friday morning, NASA released the two images as part of the telescope’s calibration process. The black-and-white photo serves as a selfie of Webb’s primary mirrors. In its reflection, the secondary mirror is visible in the center segment. Since Webb’s decades-long development racked up a bill of $10 billion, the telescope surely holds the unofficial title for the world’s most expensive selfie taken.