Virtual Telescope Project captures a view of the James Webb Space Telescope at its final destination

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It's orbiting in the bowl of the Big Dipper, from the perspective of Earth.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is visible at L2 in this image, next to the arrow.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is visible at L2 in this image, seen as a tiny white speck next to the arrow. (Image credit: Gianluca Masi/The Virtual Telescope Project)

A new image captures NASA's distant James Webb Space Telescope in a sky full of stars.

The Rome-based Virtual Telescope Project took the exposure over five minutes using its robotic telescope, a PlaneWave 17-inch, tracking Webb on a Paramount ME mount.

The image captured Webb just as it was arriving at its destination at the Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), which is about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) away from our planet, project manager Gianluca Masi said in a statement.

Live updates: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission

The full image shows NASA's James Webb Space Telescope as a tiny speck among a sea of background stars. The stars appear smudged because the telescope was tracking the motion of JWST, which appears as a small white speck. (Image credit: Gianluca Masi/The Virtual Telescope Project)

"Our robotic telescope tracked the apparent motion of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is marked by an arrow in the center," he added. Masi found the famed space observatory in the bowl of the Big Dipper, and NASA says you may be able to spot it with binoculars if you know where to look.

If you're looking for a telescope or binoculars to find Webb, check out our guide for the best binoculars deals and the best telescope deals available now. Our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can also help you pick the best imaging gear.

Webb is just getting started. NASA and prime contractor Northrop Grumman outlined Monday (Jan. 24) what to expect in the next five months of the telescope's commissioning period, which includes aspects such as precisely aligning the mirrors, turning on and testing instruments, and taking some engineering images.

"We expect the first science images from JWST to come back in about five months," Amber Straughn, the deputy project scientist for Webb science communications, said during a webcast Webb event on Monday.  

Related stories:

— NASA's $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope launches on epic mission to study early universe
— James Webb Space Telescope: The scientific mysteries no other observatory could unravel
— James Webb Space Telescope: The engineering behind a 'first light machine' that is not allowed to fail 

In the longer run, Webb has an ambitious mission to study the early universe, figure out how fast our universe is expanding and accelerating, and look at objects ranging from galaxies to exoplanets. 

The $10 billion telescope launched Dec. 25 following years of delays, but the mission has been smooth sailing since it went to space. Another big milestone, which was the complex deployment of Webb's main mirror, concluded with only minor hitches earlier this month.

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Former Staff Writer, Spaceflight (July 2022-November 2024)

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.