Which telescope captured the first deep-field image released by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in 2022?

The James Webb Space Telescope captured the first deep-field image released by the telescope in 2022.

NASA released the image, called Webb's First Deep Field, on July 12, 2022. It shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared about 4.6 billion years ago, along with many more distant galaxies whose light has been bent and magnified by the cluster's gravity.

The image was made using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera, or NIRCam. Webb observes primarily infrared light, allowing it to detect very distant objects whose light has been stretched by the expansion of the universe. Its large segmented primary mirror is optimized for faint observations in the cold environment of space.

The telescope launched on December 25, 2021, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket and operates near the Sun-Earth L2 point, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Its first deep field is not a picture of a single ancient object; it is a narrow view containing galaxies at many distances and cosmic ages.