“I’m really excited by the new images from the Webb telescope! The images are gorgeous, as anyone can see for themselves. It’s a tantalizing glimpse of what we’ll be able to learn about the universe with this telescope in the future.” Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory, expressed his enthusiasm at the first deep space images taken by James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built. “Such images are a necessary food for the human spirit— we do not live by bread alone — especially in these times.” Do you relish this achievement also on a personal level? There is also a personal side to how delighted I am with this success. Astronomy is a small field, we astronomers all tend to know one another. Many of the scientists who built the instruments and planned the observations are personal friends of mine. I know how long and how hard they and their colleagues have worked to make this incredible machine work…
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