The times of our universe

The launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) marks a milestone in the journey of our universe. The JWST is an observatory orbiting the sun, seeking the first galaxies that formed in the universe.




Built, as the BBC reports, over 30 years and costing ten billion dollars, the JWST is a huge breakthrough, using infrared astronomy which lets it capture light at incredibly distant wavelengths, even seeing star systems formed just after the Big Bang, the beginning of time, over 13 billion years ago. These systems, which still exist at the very edges of the universe, have been captured in stunning detail, the JWST showing us astonishing cosmic cliffs, shining nebulae and resplendent plumes of interstellar gas.



This exploration is crucial for humanity for it also emphasises how unique our lives are. We ourselves are composed of stardust — the first stars to form after the Big Bang were fifty times larger than our sun. As these burned fast, nucleosynthesis — the making of elements — began within them. When these stars became super novas, they expelled these elements which formed new stars and eventually, our bodies too. Every element in our beings heavier than iron travelled through time to create us. No wonder Joni Mitchell, the iconic musician, sang in ‘Woodstock’, ‘We are stardust, we are golden’.



But Mitchell’s haunting song also emphasised, ‘And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden’. The JWST underscores this too — Earth is still the only place with life, which began in its waters 3.8 billion years ago. Earth’s atmosphere — 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other gases like CO2 — also shields us from radiation and moderates our climate. But fossil fuel-driven emissions have now caused the Anthropocene where we are literally changing this atmosphere, increasing gases which heat Earth, manifest in climate change. If uncorrected, this will alter water, warmth and life itself.

Yet, as Times Evoke’s global experts emphasise, Earth’s rare conditions are part of an enormous universal stage where we, creatures of celestial science and divine comedy, can play a positive part. Join Times Evoke in celebrating this celestial story, seen through the James Webb — and our own minds.