Ever since Galileo first pointed a telescope toward the night sky in 1609, novice and professional astronomers alike have been using the curvature of optical lenses to peer deep into the night sky. In the centuries since the first use of telescopes, scientists have invested billions of dollars into large space observatories — like the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope launched at the end of 2021 — that can stare longer and further into space than ever before.
