On what date were JWST's first full-color images publicly released?

JWST’s first full-color images were publicly released on July 12, 2022. The release marked the official beginning of Webb’s general science operations and followed months of deployment, mirror alignment, instrument testing, and calibration.

U.S. President Joe Biden had revealed Webb’s first public image, the deep-field view of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, on July 11. That event is sometimes confused with the broader image release, which took place the following day. The July 12 presentation included views of the Carina Nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula, and Stephan’s Quintet, along with a spectrum of the exoplanet WASP-96b.

These were not ordinary photographs taken by a conventional camera. Webb’s instruments recorded infrared data through different filters and spectroscopic modes. Scientists assigned visible colors to those wavelengths so that otherwise invisible structures could be represented in a full-color image.

The release demonstrated Webb’s ability to study star formation, dying stars, interacting galaxies, and exoplanet atmospheres. It also began a new phase in which observations were selected and analyzed as part of the telescope’s regular scientific program.