It was a landmark week in the science of astronomy and space exploration, as NASA released a first set of infrared images from its James Webb space telescope. They are, in a word, spectacular—crisp, sparkling visuals of what NASA has hailed as ‘cosmic cliffs’ and a ‘glittering landscape of star birth’ in space.

Where humanity has long been fixated on ‘the heavens’ and ‘galaxies far away’ in its academic and cultural pursuits, the Webb images have brought previously unseen reaches of space into sharp resolution, and made science fiction real. They have stoked the will and the capacity to imagine what lies beyond our scope.

In a 2007 article published in the Smithsonian Magazine, physicist and former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin offers ‘The Real Reasons Why We Explore Space’—beyond economic factors. Ambition and curiosity are key drivers, Griffin contends, but the third is grander: ‘Finally, we humans have, since the earliest civilizations, built monuments. We want to leave something behind to show the next generation, or the generations after that, what we did with our time here. This is the impulse behind cathedrals and pyramids, art galleries and museums’. Griffin calls the products of the NASA space programme ‘today’s cathedrals.’

Imagine…

'Cosmic Cliffs' in the Carina Nebula (NIRCam Image). Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.

Stephan's Quintet (NIRCam and MIRI Composite Image). Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.

Webb's First Deep Field (NIRCam Image). Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.

The full Webb’s First Images Gallery can be found here, with content use policy here.