The wonders and terrors of modern technology evoke the ancient concept of the sublime, and present us with a choice

By Nanda Jarosz, Research officer, University of Sydney

In recent weeks the world has been awed by the first series of colour images to emerge from the James Webb Space Telescope. A celestial concert, the images of swirling galaxies and conflagrations of gas presented an unprecedented view of the early cosmos. US President Joe Biden spoke of the images as a “reminder that America can do big things” and that there is “nothing beyond our capacity”.

But what is it about images of the cosmos that engage our fascination?

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~	UN rights chief urges Georgia to scrap ‘foreign influence’ bill

~	Despite a tenfold increase in ADHD prescriptions, too many New Zealanders are still going without

~	Meaningful engagement is the key to achieving Bill C-226’s goal of ending environmental racism in Canada

~	Season two of Heartbreak High makes diversity feel ‘banal’. This is its strength

~	Kate Millett pioneered the term ‘sexual politics’ and explained the links between sex and power. Her book changed my life

~	AI can now generate entire songs on demand. What does this mean for music as we know it?

~	Why is cancer called cancer? We need to go back to Greco-Roman times for the answer

~	Clearing the elective surgery backlog will take more than one budget. It’ll need major reform

~	Electric vehicles will start to cut emissions and improve air quality in our cities – but only once they’re common

~	4 things our schools should do now to help prevent gender-based violence