In light of everyone losing their minds over the great high resolution JWST images, what’s the functional application of this new information? Considering that we are so far away from even the closest star that interstellar travel is extremely unlikely, how does this new information help us?

Question

Let me state for the record that **I am not trolling**, and I am blown away by the imagery as much as the next person.
But what can we do with this new information? Where does it take us? How does it help us?

What’s next?

In: 262

Answer 1

Modern astronomy might never turn out to be useful for anything. In which case, it’s just a frivolous use of resources that does nothing but entertain anyone who cares about that stuff. But you could say the same about art and culture and all the other things we do that aren’t necessary for human survival.