Dan Coe
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
ESA/AURA Astronomer
JWST NIRCam Instrument Scientist
We all share one story. The same humble beginnings. We have traveled far, overcome all odds, and achieved greatness. We have launched telescopes into space and witnessed our origins. This is us – as we were 13.4 billion years ago.
"Look again at that dot." Carl Sagan said of our Earth, which appeared from a distance as a mere Pale Blue Dot. "That's here. That's home. That's us."
We might say the same of these distant galaxies. Our own Milky Way dates back to these same early times over 13 billion years ago. Webb will look again at these pale infrared dots and tell us their story. Their story is our story. Webb will tell us where we came from.
With Hubble and Spitzer, we have looked back in time to see distant galaxies 97% of the way back to the Big Bang. What's left is the first 400 million years. We've yet to see a single object during that first chapter of our universe. Webb will finally reveal the first galaxies that formed during that time.