Space Telescope in Home Stretch of Tests, Early Pics Impress

This combination of images provided by NASA shows part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, seen by the retired Spitzer Space Telescope (Left), and the new James Webb Space Telescope, on May 9, 2022. NASA/JPL-Caltech, NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI via AP

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—NASA’s new space telescope is in the home stretch of testing, with science observations expected to begin in July, astronomers said Monday.

The James Webb Space Telescope beamed back the latest test pictures of a neighboring satellite galaxy, and the results are stunning when compared with images taken by NASA’s previous infrared observatory, the Spitzer Space Telescope.