On Tuesday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in association with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) released the first-ever pictures taken by the famed James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The five pictures that were released were named Carina Nebula (a star-forming region), Stephan’s Quintet (a grouping of five galaxies), Southern Ring Nebula (a body of interstellar clouds), WASP-96 b (a giant gas planet that shows traces of water and clouds and haze) and SMACS 0723 (the “deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date”). In a statement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Today, we present humanity with a groundbreaking new view of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope – a view the world has never seen before”. The high-quality images were shown to the public on digital screens in New York City’s Times Square and in London’s Piccadilly Circus. As the world marvelled at the pictures, social media began buzzing with memes on the cosmic images. Everyone, from individuals, big brands and even government agencies gave the images a meme treatment. Here are some of the best picks: I knew I'd seen that #JWST image somewhere before. pic.twitter.com/c3hO2cQzmu — Darcy DeClute (Scrumtuous Inc) (@scrumtuous) July 13, 2022 pic.twitter.com/5I5uoNe3R9 — Delhi Metro Rail Corporation I कृपया मास्क पहनें😷 (@OfficialDMRC) July 14, 2022 When everyone is in hype for the #JWST images but you are an X-ray Astronomer! 😂 pic.twitter.com/fyFhe2A6TU — Alessia Tortosa (@Alaexya) July 14, 2022 I needed to.#undertale #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope #NASA pic.twitter.com/1ohauwYMls — Naã (@NaaComTio) July 13, 2022 hey astro twitter my dad made this for us #JWST pic.twitter.com/CBx7MeMP6X — Charlotte Minsky (@minskycharlotte) July 13, 2022 💩🤪 pic.twitter.com/J2HQXWwU8H — Arey Arey (@areyareydotcom) July 13, 2022 it’s here–the deepest, sharpest infrared view of the universe to date pic.twitter.com/ne4MRQRpx9 — vipin (@djfrankkie) July 13, 2022 fixed it pic.twitter.com/qLq6I0HbZZ — BHAVESH (@shawarmasimp) July 13, 2022 oh wow @nasa how do we get this back to justin herbert pic.twitter.com/bixn9MPdE2 — Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 11, 2022 i zoomed out and guess what pic.twitter.com/aIWKcCY7ND — The Birdist (@TheBirdist) July 11, 2022 Same energy. pic.twitter.com/DBNIPyQFx5 — Andy Howell (@d_a_howell) July 12, 2022 it's here–the deepest, sharpest infrared view of the universe to date pic.twitter.com/3rqzmReK6f — Jill Krajewski (@JillKrajewski) July 11, 2022 So in awe of the gravitational lensing! Never expected to see such clarity and color pic.twitter.com/S7o8rceqQR — Julia Kardon (@jlkardon) July 11, 2022 The JWST is the largest optical telescope hovering in space. It was propelled into space in December 2021 from French Guiana in South America. Currently, the telescope is stationed almost 1 million miles from Earth. The famed telescope was built at the cost of 10 billion dollars.
