In a midday surprise, Google has launched a new homepage Doodle celebrating the first five public images taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Google, being a technology company, takes great interest in the advancements of science, and when major events happen, it’s only fitting its employees find a way to celebrate. To that end, Google has done quite a few of what it calls “real-time Doodles” in recent years, including for 2015’s discovery of water on Mars and the first image of a black hole.
Today, NASA shared the first images created by the James Webb Space Telescope, which was first launched last December. It is, by all accounts, the most powerful telescope to ever be in space, and was designed to be a significant improvement over 1990’s Hubble Space Telescope.
While the true purposes of the James Webb Space Telescope’s exploration of astrophysics may not have an immediate impact on most people’s day-to-day lives, we learned today and yesterday that it is capable of capturing the awe-inspiring beauty of the universe in which we live. Across five images, captured with the telescope’s enhanced infrared capabilities, we can see stars being born in a truly breathtaking level of detail.
To celebrate this event, Google has created another “real-time Doodle” featuring the James Webb Space Telescope. In the animated Doodle, the telescope is made into a delightful cartoon character of the honeycomb-shaped mirror assembly riding on top of the pink sunshield.
The telescope then, adorably, takes out a camera — remembers to remove the lens cap! — and begins to take photographs. Over top of the Doodle, the five images from NASA are then displayed.
Additionally, on the search results page, you’ll find a detailed 3D model of the James Webb Space Telescope. If you tap or click on it, you’re able to view it from all angles and zoom in to see how it’s constructed.
To learn more about the history of the James Webb Space Telescope and what it all may mean for us, be sure to check out coverage from colleagues over at Space Explored.
Images: Google
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