For a long time, chaos and mismanagement reigned. On December 25, 2021, an Ariane 5 rocket finally launched the James Webb telescope, which has now cost ten billion dollars, into space, where its six-and-a-half-meter main mirror surveys the cosmos in the infrared, one and a half million kilometers from Earth. Webb not only shows the universe in a new light, but looks so deep into space that it can observe the first stars and galaxies that formed 13.5 billion years ago, shortly after the Big Bang. With this look into the past, the telescope is the most effective “time machine” ever built.
In this opulent illustrated book, science journalist Till Mundzeck presents a successful selection of the most beautiful images that the observatory has taken so far. The astronomical objects depicted are diverse: dark red clouds of gas and dust billow across large-format pages, the remains of dead stars glow, and the fiery spirals of galaxies sparkle. The author has written very understandable texts to accompany them.
The structure of the book is based on five research questions: How did the universe begin? How do galaxies form? How are stars born? How do solar systems develop? Are we alone in space? It will be interesting to see what answers the James Webb telescope will provide in the coming years. Helmut Hornung
A gallery with pictures from the volume can also be found on “wissenschaft.de”.
Till Mundzeck
Our new eye in space
National Geographic
208 p., € 49,99
ISBN 978-3-86690-747-8