It has been over one full year of collecting images and data through the most advanced space telescope in the world.

First images from the James Webb Space Telescope were sent out on July 12, 2022. Since that time, the team behind the telescope has routinely sent out incredibly detailed images of the farthest reaches of space as it captures images of the first galaxies to form following the Big Bang.

Chief Science Communications Officer with the James Webb and Hubble Telescopes for the European Space Agency, Bethany Downer, says the most surprising discovery for the astronomers has been how early the galaxies formed.

She says they were not expecting to see such mature and large galaxies so early in the universe, so they are digging into how these galaxies came to be.

✨NEW✨ from the James Webb Space Telescope: This is a pair of actively forming young stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, captured in near-infrared light.

Learn more about the pair (and zoom in to this detailed snapshot!) here: https://t.co/AQgjftqVev #JWST #scicomm pic.twitter.com/qlXmJDVOoZ

— Bethany Downer (@BethanyAstro) July 26, 2023