“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” - Arthur C. Clarke ... Repost @nasa 👀 SNEAK PEEK: The deepest, sharpest infrared image of the universe ever.⁣ ⁣ @POTUS previewed the very first image released from the James Webb Space Telescope, the world's most powerful space telescope. Capturing this was all in a day’s work. (Literally! Webb captured this image in less than a day, while similar images from Hubble can take weeks.) ⁣ ⁣ If you held a grain of sand to the sky at arm’s length, that speck is the size of Webb’s view here. Imagine — galaxies galore within a grain! Why do some galaxies appear bent? The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a “gravitational lens,” bending the light rays from more distant galaxies behind it, magnifying them. ⁣ ⁣ This isn’t the farthest back we’ve seen. Non-infrared missions like COBE & WMAP saw the universe closer to the Big Bang (about 380,000 years after), when there was microwave background radiation, but no stars or galaxies. Webb sees a few 100 million years after. ⁣ ⁣ View & download Webb’s new image at our link in bio. Tune in July 12 at 10:30 a.m. EDT (14:30 UTC) for the rest of Webb’s First Images!⁣ ⁣ Webb is a collaboration between NASA, the @EuropeanSpaceAgency & the @CanadianSpaceAgency. The @Space_Telescopes Science Institute is Webb's science & mission operations center.⁣ ⁣ Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA & STScI