We are just two days away from a show. Unlike any other.
On Tuesday, NASA is set to release images from the
James Webb Space Telescope that are truly going to be
out of this world and this is just the teaser. This
image was taken in May during a week long stability
test for the telescope, 72 exposures taken over 32
hours time. Our Maya Rodriguez takes us inside the
James Webb Telescope project that one scientist says
will give us quote a fresh and powerful set of eyes on
the universe here on earth. It's hard to contemplate
what lies beyond the ground. But we're about to take
you to a place that's making sure that what lies very
high above comes perfectly into focus 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. It's very quiet in this room. It's
kind of like a library on purpose a mission control
where some of NASA's best and brightest, keep a careful
view over a $10 billion in space. There's a lot of
people that it takes to run the mission. That mission
to oversee NASA's Webb space telescope is a temperatur
map of the mirrors. Webb is the successor to the famed
Hubble telescope which over the decades brought
stunning views of the cosmos to the world. But Web is
far more advanced. The most powerful telescope ever
sent into space and traveling a greater distance aw
than Hubble ever did spectacularly worked. Obser
were very, very happy. All right, so let's go inside
with the last name tailor made for a career at NASA.
Mission Operations Manager Carl star gave us a behind
the scenes. Look at mission control in Maryland. We
designed it with a sense of openness because it's a
science mission. So we wanted everybody to feel like
they had part of it. And now for the first time ever
web will make it possible for everyone on earth to lay
eyes on something never seen before. The deepest images
ever taken of space. It's not going to just do what
Hubble did better. It is actually looking at the
universe in a whole new way. Susan Mulally is the
telescope's deputy project scientist. Webb is looking
out in what we call the infrared. So this is like that
even your I can't see. And so as a result we're able to
study parts of the universe that we've never been able
to see before. Including exoplanets which lie beyond
our solar system and distant Galaxies stretching bac
to the dawn of time, Galaxies that are so far away.
It's hard to even come up with numbers that make sense
to anybody. And yet she says those discoveries matt
We're just refining our understanding with the Webb.
Space telescope to expand our knowledge of this
universe we live in and see beautiful things. I would
imagine also we will see gorgeous beautiful imagery
that I think people will put up on their walls as well.
And I hope it inspires young people out there to want
to explore the world in whatever way they choose or
perhaps one day explore beyond this world in Baltimore,
I'm Maya Rodriguez beyond this world. So for more on
that we bring in now amateur astro photographer
McCarthy who posts his own incredible space photograph
on his site, cosmic background. Andrew before we get to
your pictures, I first just want to get your thoughts
on the James Webb Telescope. What what is it that
you're hoping to see this week and long into the
future? Well, of course, I'm really excited to see
what, what's coming out of this amazing instrument. Of
course there's gonna be a lot of scientific discovery,
but I think I'm really, you know at heart, I'm an
artist, I'm looking for inspiration from these
instruments. Uh so I'm really hoping to see something
that really opens my eyes to space in a way that it
hasn't before. Um almost in a way astronauts get the
overview effect when they're flying over earth. I want
to get a similar inspiration when I look at what's
coming deep from within the belly of the universe. And
so as I mentioned, Andrew you're an astro photogra
and take some really cool photos. So let's start with
this side by side that we have on the left, the pillars
of creation part of the eagle nebula, shot by the
Hubble space telescope and then on the right, the same
image of gas and dust from 7000 light years away shot
by you. So tell us, tell us more about it. All right.
So one of the biggest misconceptions about sp
that you need to launch a billion dollar space
telescope in this space in order to take pictures of
it. And that is absolutely not true. I have a pretty
modestly sized telescope and using special filters I'm
even able to shoot despite the light pollution in my
suburban backyard. Um So I'm able to actually capture
these nebulas that are forming stars right in front of
us um and see them in clarity that you would not expe
possible. Um So I've actually built a modest
observatory in my backyard that made it easier for me
to get in and out, but otherwise it's actually pos
with a pretty small budget. I can actually see the
pillars of creation with a small telescope like this.
That's that's amazing. So what have you learned through
your journey taking these photos and just learning
about outer space? What I've learned is really um this
guy is not the limit. I'm able to see as deep into
space as the Hubble space telescope for example, ju
maybe not quite as clearly. Um So there's a lot of
potential for anybody like me that's curious about the
universe to be able to explore it firsthand. We may no
have faster than light travel yet, but we do have the
abilities today with camera technology and optical
technology to explore the vast reaches of space. Uh And
that's something that I've learned personally over the
last few years, and I want to spread that knowledge t
everybody. I can. All right, well, these are just
really cool to look at, and we will see what photos
come out with the telescope later this week as well.
Alright. Andrew McCarthy, Thank so much for being here
this weekend. Thank you for having me.