On Monday, the world got a look at the first image from the most powerful telescope ever launched into space, the .
Launched in December, it is now roughly a million miles away from Earth, and that vantage point means some stunning images that give humanity the best look yet at the farthest reaches of the universe.
More images were released on Tuesday, and in Fairfax County, students taking part in summer learning programs got their first look with 聽in Burke, Virginia.
And the images released Tuesday — of regions such as the Carina Nebula, Stephan鈥檚 Quintet and the Southern Ring Nebula 鈥� made an impression.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really just mind-blowing,鈥� said student Gideon Lovern. 鈥淚t just really paints a picture.鈥�
Another student, Kaylee Bryson, was already familiar with the telescope鈥檚 potential. She went to Space Camp in Alabama and had seen presentations on its capability.
鈥淚 was really intrigued about the way it folded, and all the science behind the amazing mirrors,鈥� said Bryson, who wants to work for NASA. 鈥淚 just loved it from the start. Now that I鈥檝e seen [the images], it just blew my mind.鈥�
The NASA volunteer on hand at Lake Braddock Secondary School was also impressed, and he hopes that this tool with vast potential will inspire students to pursue a career in space.
鈥淭o see this stuff, it’s just mind blowing,鈥� said Brian Cummins, who is also an amateur astronomer and astrophotographer.
He said the telescope is so powerful that from Earth, it could see the infrared light coming off a bumble bee on the moon. And while the telescope will no doubt yield new discoveries to scientists, it will also yield reminders of humanity鈥檚 place in the universe.
鈥淲e live on a sort of small planet, in the suburb of a very regular galaxy, of which, everywhere we look, there’s galaxies everywhere. It does make you feel really small,鈥� he said.
鈥溾�� But the relationships and what we can do for our fellow man and what we’re learning about the universe — those are big things, right? So it’s kind of a cool dichotomy.鈥�
That sense of perspective wasn鈥檛 lost on Bryson: 鈥淚t really makes you think about how tiny we are,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd if, like, if this universe is so big, maybe there are others out there.鈥�
蜜桃视频app’s Gigi Barnett contributed to this report.
