The JWST has finally completed its seventh and final alignment phase, confirming that all four instruments are aligned and focused on the telescope, allowing it to produce diffraction-limited images. The diffraction limit means that the resolution is as good as it can get for a telescope of that aperture.

Each of the instruments receives light from the telescope at the same time, allowing for simultaneous operations. According to the scientists, the telescope is now performing even better than they expected.

The next step, and the last one before producing science, is science instrument commissioning. This step is the conclusion of a quarter-century of work for some scientists, such as wavefront sensing and controls scientist Scott Acton, who said: These images have profoundly changed the way I see the universe. We are surrounded by a symphony of creation; there are galaxies everywhere! It is my hope that everyone in the world can see them.

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NASA’s Webb In Full Focus, Ready for Instrument Commissioning (NASA)