In 2021, the world witnessed a Christmas miracle as NASA launched the largest and most powerful space telescope into the great abyss.
The collective effort from people across thousands of countries dating back to the 1990s has led to the birth of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
It has taken amazing pictures of the cosmos, but also lead to discoveries that, while amazing, were difficult to photograph - but did give us some impressive illustrations.
In celebration of its monumental second year out in space, here are some of the best photos - and some illustrations, to honour that the JWST is more than just a camera - science has gifted us since.
First Earth-sized exoplanet, LHS 475 b
An illustration of the exoplanet, 41 light years away and 99 percent of Earth's diameter. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI)
The JWST is the only telescope capable of defining the characteristics of Earth-sized exoplanets such as this one.
Apart from being similar in size, LHS 475 b differs from Earth in both temperature and time.
Orbiting 41 light years away from us, it measures a few hundred degrees warmer and a year on the exoplanet is about two days.
Star on cusp of death, Wolf Rayet 124
The outburst of purple gas and dust once made up the Wolf Rayet 124 star's outer layer. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
A captivating image of a star as it combusts into dust emerges in another NASA first.
The rare and fleeting phase was captured as an explosion of purple hues that was once the star's outer layer.
Remnants of an exploded star, Cassiopeia A (Cas A)
NASA published this image of Cassiopeia A, a supernova remnant, using data from Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Tea Temim (Princeton University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Image Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)
Dubbed as both "a science and an art", the remains of Cas A interpreted as this colourful cosmic dust was created using data from JSWT's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MRI).
The MRI allowed for the image to be processed in incredible detail, presenting itself in everyday colours we recognise.
A planet in the making, NGC 346
NGC 346 is a dynamic star cluster that lies within a nebula 200,000 light years away. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, Olivia C. Jones (UK ATC), Guido De Marchi (ESTEC), Margaret Meixner (USRA) Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Nolan Habel (USRA), Laura Lenkić (USRA), Laurie E. U. Chu (NASA Ames)
Brewing in a neighbouring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud - a nebula 210,000 light years away - is planet NGC 346.
The microscopic grains of sand and dust coming close to a cluster of young stars signify the forming of a planet.
Debris belts around a star named Fomalhaut
The dusty debris disk surrounding the young star Fomalhaut encompasses three nested belts extending out to 23 billion kilometres from the star. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA. Image Processing András Gáspár (University of Arizona), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
The three rings surrounding the young star extend out to 23 billion kilometres, which is 150 times the distance from Earth to the Sun.
Known as "debris disks", the dusty belts are a product of ruins from collisions of bodies such as asteroids and comets.
Water in asteroid belt, around comet 238P/Read
This illustration of Comet 238P/Read shows the main belt comet sublimating — its water ice vaporising as its orbit approaches the Sun. Photo: NASA, ESA
The discovery of water in the Solar System's main asteroid belt confirmed a longstanding theory NASA has had.
It demonstrated that water ice could be preserved inside Jupiter's orbit, and could have been delivered to Earth - linking back to early origins of our water source.
A collection of newborn stars, Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex
This visualisation of matter is invisible to the human eye and it can only be detected by the JWST. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI). Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
Some 390 light years away lies the nearest star-forming region to Earth.
The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex comprises about 50 young stars nestled among jets of molecular hydrogen in red and cosmic dust in bright greenish-yellow.
Here's a video tour of the stars in the area.
The explosion of a dying star, Ring Nebula aka Messier 57
The new James Webb images of Messier 57 clearly show the main ring, surrounded by a faint halo and with many delicate structures. Photo: Supplied / University of Manchester
The JWST has taken us through the various life phases of a star, and that includes one of Ring Nebula in its last stages of existence.
Named after its distinct circular pattern, the star was first discovered in 1779 by French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix.
Whirlpool galaxy, M51
The M51 galaxy is called the Whirlpool due to its distinct spiral arms. Photo: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo and the FEAST JWST team
This is the clearest image of the spiral galaxy in almost two decades.
M51 is believed to get its swirling structure from the gravitational pull of a neighbouring galaxy.
Supersonic outflow of a young star, Herbig-Haro 211
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's high resolution, near-infrared look at Herbig-Haro 211. Photo: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, Tom Ray (Dublin)
At no more than a few tens of thousands of years old, Herbig-Haro 211 has a mass of only 8 per cent of our Sun.
But it's destined to grow into a similar size, giving us a glimpse of what our Sun may have once looked like in its premature days.
And not forgetting, Uranus's rings!
This image of Uranus from NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shows the planet and its rings in new clarity. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Boasting a total of 11 rings across the inner and outer sets, Uranus shines through the JWST.
The inner system encompasses nine dark grey rings while the outer rings are in red and blue.
- This article was first published by the ABC.
