Recently you might have heard about the newest space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), but what is it and why do we have it?

On April 1, 1995 The Hubble Telescope captured a famous photo called the Pillars of Creation; but why are they called that? All of the red bursts of light are stars being created. While The Hubble has taken many breathtaking images in space, Webb’s JWST can do an even greater job. The JWST is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble and has bigger light-reflecting mirrors meaning it can peer back farther in time. It also uses infrared to see past all of the dust and debris in space, giving us much clearer images.

So what is the point of this huge, expensive telescope? Sure, it captures stunning images but what’s the real point? JWST will be used to help us rewrite the universe’s history and possibly discover new planets and galaxies. JWST can help us time travel in a way, the mirrors are so smooth and huge that it can collect the faint light coming from faraway galaxies and tell us what happened lightyears ago. With the JWST the opportunities to learn about space seem endless.