Creating the James Webb Space Telescope’s first color images

The first color images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST, Gardner et al. 2023) were designed with the understanding that a NASA/ESA/CSA flagship must explain its purpose and science to the taxpaying public, and that to earn the opportunity to explain and educate, we must first inspire. The feeling that many people have when seeing a well-composed color image of a deep space scene for the first Lme is visceral. It connects to a deeper part of the psyche than that of pure reason, like the effect of music or other visual arts. It is in eliciLng this emoLon that we have an opportunity to draw people in and educate; inevitably quesLons follow: What do I see? What do the colors and shapes mean? How large, distant, or old is this? And how does it relate to us, the Earth, the Sun, and my environment? It is in answering these quesLons we can educate, encourage children to take up careers in STEM, and hopefully convince the public that science is a fundamental human endeavor.