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 has sent back its first two images: an "outer-space selfie" of its primary mirrors and 18 distinct perspectives of a single star.
These initial black-and-white images are crucial for the telescope's calibration process, specifically to align its 18 primary mirror segments using its Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam).
This successful capture of light marks a significant milestone in preparing the $10 billion telescope for scientific operations, with high-quality images expected after further cooling and full calibration, and scientific images anticipated 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.