The New Frontier in Astronomy

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Ray wardener: We really are living in an extraordinary age of discovery when it comes to planets around other stars. The fun and the learning are just beginning with james webb, he says. Ray Wardener: To see such a complex observatory perform so well beyond all expectations is remarkable. It gave me goose bumps. Perhaps not quite as many as watching the launch of web with my two young children, but it really feels like being part of a cosmic adventure.

This week, Nasa unveiled the first images from the James Webb space telescope – much awaited pictures that show our universe in glorious technicolour. The $10bn telescope, now 1 million miles from Earth, will allow scientists to look back to the dawn of time. Prof Ray Jayawardhana, who is working with one of the instruments onboard the JWST, speaks to Ian Sample about what these images show us, and what they mean for the very human quest of discovering our place in the cosmos.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod