A sparkling landscape of baby stars. A foamy blue and orange view of a dying star. Five galaxies in a dance.

That’s what NASA’s powerful new telescope sees in space.

This week, people got a sneak peek at the first images snapped by the James Webb Space Telescope. They gazed on a jumble of distant galaxies. People have never seen this far into space before.

The European and Canadian space agencies worked with NASA to build Webb. Webb was launched in December after years of delays. Webb can see through cosmic dust to faraway light from the corners of the universe. What it sees isn’t just a scientific marvel. It’s beautiful. A work of art.

Webb sees:

Baby stars.

Awww. Webb spotted Carina nebula, a “star nursery,” which scientists say is about 7,600 light-years away. (A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.) The colorful landscape shows bubbles and cavities where stars are being born.

A dying star.

Images of Southern Ring Nebula show a star with foamy edges. Those “foamy” parts are escaping gas. This star is dying. But as it does, it throws off parts that will become new stars later.

Five galaxies.

These galaxies are called Stephan’s Quintet. The Quintet was discovered in 1877, long before people had the tech to get an up-close look.

A giant planet.

Meet QASP-96b. It’s about the size of Saturn and 1,150 light-years away. This planet is gas. Webb used infrared detectors to learn that the planet has evidence of water vapor in its atmosphere. Could life exist there? Nope. It’s super-hot!

Revelation that says that in the end time, the heavens will roll up like a scroll. (Revelation 6:14) But right now, God is actually allowing that scroll to be unrolled for us to see His wonders in a new way.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. — Psalm 19:1