NASA James Webb Telescope opens huge 'golden eye'

NASA's new space telescope opened its huge, gold-plated, flower-shaped mirror Saturday, the final step in the observatory's dramatic unfurling.  The last portion of the 21-foot mirror swung into place at flight controllers' command, completing the unfolding of the James Webb Space Telescope. 

More powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope, the 10 billion USD Webb will scan the cosmos for light streaming from the first stars and galaxies formed 13.7 billion years ago. To accomplish this, NASA had to outfit Webb with the biggest and most sensitive mirror ever launched _ its "golden eye," as scientists call it.

Webb should reach its destination 1 million miles away in another two weeks. If all continues to go well, science observations will begin this summer. Astronomers hope to peer back to within 100 million years of the universe-forming Big Bang, closer than Hubble has achieved.