The telescope is almost ready to begin scientific operations

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has reached another milestone after aligning all four of its science instruments, meaning the telescope is now fully focused. The JWST team will now move onto the science instrument commissioning phase, when they will set up and calibrate the experiments ready to begin the science phase in the summer.

The telescope’s performance has exceeded even the most optimistic predictions and as the first test images come in, its true potential is becoming readily apparent. This image shows an area of the Large Magellanic Cloud taken both by JWST and its predecessor, the Spitzer space telescope, at comparable wavelengths. What are fuzzy blobs and vague hazy patches with Spitzer are now resolved into sharp stars and nebulous wisps of dust, giving a tantalising glimpse of what the JWST will be capable of when it begins its true scientific operations. www.jwst.nasa.gov