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Images of a very “boring” star are making waves across the astronomical world today – they are the first sent back from NASA’s James Webb telescope, and they have exceeded all hopes and expectations.

Having completed the self-assembly of its 18-segmented main mirror, the telescope has now taken exceptional images of an unexceptional star as a test of its capabilities. The star, known as HD84406, is 100 times fainter than what can be seen with the human eye. The star itself is of little interest, lovely though its image is – instead, astronomers are captivated by the spray of tiny dots scattered across the background. Each is a distant galaxy, and this is the first time we’ve ever been able to capture them.

In a virtual briefing, NASA officials expressed their overwhelming joy and relief at what these first images represent.

This is huge.


The project will be the first time humans have tried to situate a permanent orbital space station around the Moon.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Lunar Gateway.

What is the Lunar Gateway?

The Lunar Gateway is a crewed space station designed to orbit the Moon. In this sense, it is similar to the International Space Station, which currently orbits the Earth.