The new science coming from the James Webb telescope has astronomers giddy

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/21/ [login to see] /the-new-science-coming-from-the-james-webb-telescope-has-astronomers-giddy
Shockingly distant galaxies, clues about alien planets' atmospheres, and an unexpected weirdness around Jupiter are just some of the scientific treasures uncovered by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The days since the public unveiling of the telescope's first images have been action-packed for astronomers, who have been engulfed by a whirlwind of possible discoveries as they pore over the $10 billion telescope's early sightings.

"It's like a birthday and Christmas and an anniversary and a graduation and Thanksgiving and Hanukkah all wrapped into one for us, and happening just every day," says Jacob Bean of the University of Chicago.

"It works better than I think almost anyone hoped. It's really a miracle," says Rachel Somerville, an astronomer with the Flatiron Institute. "This is like nothing I've experienced."

The few stunning images that got featured at press conferences on July 11 and 12 represent just a fraction of what the telescope has seen since it launched in December and unfolded out in space.