DES MOINES, Iowa — One word: jaw-dropping.
On Monday, President Joe Biden unveiled the first picture from the James Webb satellite, stationed almost a million miles from Earth. On Tuesday, even more spectacular images were released.
The comparison between the quality of pictures shot by the new Webb telescope compared to the Hubble telescope is simply stunning. Below is the same shot, 19 years apart; one by Hubble, and a new one from Webb.
Where the Webb telescope could take us from here could be the answer to a question that humanity has been asking for a millennia.
"We don't expect to be able to prove that there's life anywhere else. But what we do expect to do along those lines is to establish that the conditions for life are actually quite common," Dr. Mike Ressler, a Webb project scientist with NASA told Local 5.
Dr. Keri Hoadley, a professor of astronomy at the University of Iowa, says she's interested to see how her work could relate to what Webb hopes to accomplish.
"I'm an expert in ultraviolet astronomy, and that actually has really big benefits for Webb. People with my kind of background and expertise will be really valuable for helping to understand what that light is telling us," Hoadley told Local 5.
Hoadley thinks the ultimate question very well could be answered.
"Are we alone in the universe? It's probably going to be the first time we have a real shot at being able to answer that question with a telescope," she said.