ST. GEORGE — The National Park Service in Southwestern Utah and Northern Arizona has joined hundreds of sites across the country to celebrate the release of the first science images from the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s next great space science observatory.
The parks and partners will offer a range of public programs to bring the excitement of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) to children, teenagers and adults, according to a news release issued by the National Park Service.
Webb is the largest and most complex space science telescope ever built – the premier observatory of the next decade. This international mission, led by NASA in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, launched Dec. 25, 2021. After unfolding in space into its final form, Webb successfully arrived at its destination nearly 1 million miles from Earth and began preparing for science operations.
The observatory, which is designed to see the universe in the infrared, will push the field of astronomy into a new era. Webb will be able to study light from distant parts of the universe for the very first time – the first galaxies that formed over 13.5 billion years ago – and give insight into how the universe formed.
It will also peer into dusty stellar nurseries to explore distant worlds orbiting other stars, as well as observe objects in our own solar system. Webb will extend the scientific discoveries of other NASA missions like the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
The community events are free and open to the public and will be held at Zion National Park on Wednesday, Springdale Parks & Recreation on Thursday, Cedar City Library on Saturday, Ashcroft Observatory on July 25, Pipe Spring National Monument on July 29, and the St. George Astronomy Club on Aug. 9. For a full schedule of events, visit this website or contact the parks.
To learn more about the Webb telescope and community events visit these websites: