How far into space can the most powerful telescope look?

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the deepest, sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe to date. This image of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, dubbed the First Webb Deep Field, is remarkably detailed. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI)

The world's first telescope, created in 1608 by Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey, was the starting point for amazing technologies that would change our perception of the universe. Although his telescope used simple lenses to magnify objects about three times, later scientists took the idea further to peer into the depths of space.

However, some telescopes are more powerful, allowing us to observe distant stars and galaxies, as well as explore extreme phenomena such as black holes and Einstein rings. So, which telescope is considered the most powerful and how far can it see into space?

The answer will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following the news lately: The most powerful telescope currently in use is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which launched in December 2021 to detect infrared and near-infrared light — wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum invisible to the human eye but perceived as heat. Its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, was primarily designed to detect visible and ultraviolet light — wavelengths often emitted by young stars.