The James Webb Space Telescope is revealing the universe in extraordinary detail, from familiar planets to galaxies whose light has travelled for billions of years. In this illustrated talk, astronomer Chris Packham explores a selection of Webb images released since April 2025, including Saturn’s icy rings, stellar nurseries, planet-forming disks, dying stars, and galaxies shaped by encounters and supermassive black holes. Along the way, he explains what infrared light reveals, how astronomers interpret these colorful images, and how gravity can act as a natural telescope to bring the distant universe into view.
Designed for amateur astronomy enthusiasts, the talk concludes with an update on the Habitable Worlds Observatory and the work underway toward a future telescope that could directly image potentially habitable planets and examine their atmospheres for possible signs of life.