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James Webb Space Telescope

The gruesome palette of these galaxies is owed to a mix of mid-infrared light from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, and visible and ultraviolet light from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The pair grazed one another millions of years ago. The smaller spiral on the left, catalogued as IC 2163, passed behind NGC 2207, the larger spiral galaxy at right. Both have increased star formation rates. Combined, they are estimated to form the equivalent of two dozen new stars that are the size of the Sun annually. Our Milky Way galaxy forms the equivalent of two or three new Sun-like stars per year. Both galaxies have hosted seven known supernovae, each of which may have cleared space in their arms, rearranging gas and dust that later cooled, and allowed many new stars to form. (Find these areas by looking for the bluest regions).

Creepy cosmic eyes stare out from space in Webb and Hubble image

In time for Halloween, the Webb and Hubble space telescopes have worked together to image a creepy pair of cosmic eyes.
Space
Georgina Torbet
An artist’s conception of the “steam world” GJ 9827 d, shown in the foreground in blue.

James Webb discovers a new type of exoplanet: an exotic ‘steam world’

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
The newly-discovered GS-NDG-9422 galaxy appears as a faint blur in this James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image. It could help astronomers better understand galaxy evolution in the early Universe.

‘That’s weird’: This galaxy could help astronomers understand the earliest stars

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
This composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) and MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument), reveals a wealth of information about the star formation taking place in these two galaxies and how they collided hundreds of million years ago. The near-infrared data, shown in white, show older stars, which shine brightly in both galaxies, as well as the tenuous gas bridge that runs between them. The vibrant background galaxies are also brightly illuminated at these wavelengths.

James Webb image shows two galaxies in the process of colliding

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the very outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Known as the Extreme Outer Galaxy, this region is located more than 58 000 light-years from the Galactic centre.

James Webb trains its sights on the Extreme Outer Galaxy

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
The galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154 is so massive it is warping the fabric of space-time and distorting the appearance of galaxies behind it, an effect known as gravitational lensing. This natural phenomenon magnifies distant galaxies and can also make them appear in an image multiple times, as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope saw here.

James Webb spots another pair of galaxies forming a question mark

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
This image shows a small portion of the field observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) for the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey. It is filled with galaxies. The light from some of them has traveled for over 13 billion years to reach the telescope.

James Webb is explaining the puzzle of some of the earliest galaxies

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
Featured in this new image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258. This is a nearby spiral galaxy that resides roughly 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, practically a neighbour by cosmic standards. Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own and two supernovae have been observed in this galaxy in 1981 and 2014.

James Webb Telescope captures gorgeous galaxy with a hungry monster at its heart

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
Artist’s impression of a cold gas giant orbiting a red dwarf. Only a point of light is visible on the JWST/MIRI images. Nevertheless, the initial analysis suggests the presence of a gaseous planet that may have properties similar to Jupiter.

James Webb takes rare direct image of a nearby super-Jupiter

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
webb wasp 39b dayside nightside stsci 01j2f12rm1s3n39yj938nhsf93 png

One half of this wild exoplanet reaches temperatures of 1,450 degrees Fahrenheit

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
This “penguin party” is loud! The distorted spiral galaxy at center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at left, the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. A new near- and mid-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken to mark its second year of science, shows that their interaction is marked by a faint upside-down U-shaped blue glow.

Webb captures a Penguin and an Egg for its two-year anniversary

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), is a molecular cloud that harbors a protostar. It resides about 460 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. The more diffuse blue light and the filamentary structures in the image come from organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while the red at the center of this image is an energized, thick layer of gases and dust that surrounds the protostar. The region in between, which shows up in white, is a mixture of PAHs, ionized gas, and other molecules.

James Webb snaps a colorful image of a star in the process of forming

Space
Georgina Torbet
Space
Georgina Torbet
This image is a mosaic of visible-light and infrared-light views of the same frame from the Pillars of Creation visualization. The three-dimensional model of the pillars created for the visualization sequence is alternately shown in the Hubble Space Telescope version (visible light) and the Webb Space Telescope version (infrared light).

See a stunning 3D visualization of astronomy’s most beautiful object

NASA has created a 3D visualization of the beautiful Pillars of Creation, using data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
Georgina Torbet
This image shows the centre of the Serpens Nebula as seen by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam).

Gorgeous Webb image of Serpens Nebula shows a strange alignment

A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the famous Serpens Nebula, a dense star-forming region.
Georgina Torbet
This artist’s concept shows two young stars nearing the end of their formation. Encircling the stars are disks of leftover gas and dust from which planets may form. Jets of gas shoot away from the stars’ north and south poles.

Well-known star turns out to be not one star, but twins

Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope revealed that a particular star turned out not to be a single star at all, but actually a pair.
Georgina Torbet
JADES (NIRCam Image with Pullout). The NIRCam data was used to determine which galaxies to study further with spectroscopic observations. One such galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0 (shown in the pullout), was determined to be at a redshift of 14.32 (+0.08/-0.20), making it the current record-holder for the most distant known galaxy. This corresponds to a time less than 300 million years after the big bang.

James Webb discovers the most distant galaxy ever observed

Researchers using James Webb have discovered the most distant known galaxy to date. It existed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
Georgina Torbet
This artist’s concept shows what the exoplanet 55 Cancri e could look like. Also called Janssen, 55 Cancri e is a so-called super-Earth, a rocky planet significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, which orbits its star at a distance of only 2.25 million kilometres (0.015 astronomical units), completing one full orbit in less than 18 hours. In comparison, Mercury is 25 times farther from the Sun than 55 Cancri e is from its star. The system, which also includes four large gas-giant planets, is located about 41 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Cancer.

James Webb telescope peers at the atmosphere of a rocky hell world

The James Webb Space Telescope recently investigated an exoplanet that could have the first atmosphere of a rocky planet discovered outside the solar system.
Georgina Torbet
This artist’s concept shows what the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b could look like. WASP-43 b is a Jupiter-sized planet circling a star roughly 280 light-years away, in the constellation Sextans. The planet orbits at a distance of about 1.3 million miles (0.014 astronomical units, or AU), completing one circuit in about 19.5 hours. Because it is so close to its star, WASP-43 b is probably tidally locked: its rotation rate and orbital period are the same, such that one side faces the star at all times.

James Webb observes extremely hot exoplanet with 5,000 mph winds

Astronomers using the James Webb telescope have modeled the weather on a distant exoplanet, revealing winds whipping around at speeds of 5,000 miles per hour.
Georgina Torbet
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. These observations show a part of the iconic nebula in a whole new light, capturing its complexity with unprecedented spatial resolution. Webb’s new images show part of the sky in the constellation Orion (The Hunter), in the western side of the Orion B molecular cloud. Rising from turbulent waves of dust and gas is the Horsehead Nebula, otherwise known as Barnard 33, which resides roughly 1300 light-years away.

James Webb captures the edge of the beautiful Horsehead Nebula

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the sharpest infrared view to date of a portion of the famous Horsehead Nebula.
Georgina Torbet
A team of astronomers used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to survey the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), which is located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. M82 hosts a frenzy of star formation, sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy. Webb’s infrared capabilities enabled scientists to peer through curtains of dust and gas that have historically obscured the star formation process. This image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument shows the centre of M82 with an unprecedented level of detail. With Webb’s resolution, astronomers can distinguish small, bright compact sources that are either individual stars or star clusters. Obtaining an accurate count of the stars and clusters that compose M82’s centre can help astronomers understand the different phases of star formation and the timelines for each stage.

James Webb images capture the galactic winds of newborn stars

A stunning new pair of images from the James Webb Space Telescope show a new view of a familiar galaxy: Messier 82.
Georgina Torbet
This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the most distant galaxy in which Hubble has identified Cepheid variable stars. These are important milepost markers for measuring the expansion rate of the Universe. The distance calculated from Cepheids has been cross-correlated with a Type Ia supernova in the galaxy. Type Ia supernovae are so bright they are used to measure cosmic distances far beyond the range of the Cepheids, extending measurements of the Universe’s expansion rate deeper into space.

The expansion rate of the universe still has scientists baffled

The question of how fast the universe is expanding confounds scientists, and new research using James Webb and Hubble doesn't make the answer any clearer.
Georgina Torbet
james webb hubble live tracker screenshot 2024 03 06 220259

See what James Webb and Hubble are observing right now with this tool

If you're looking for a relaxing way to observe the fascinating sights of space on your lunch break, then a newly updated tool from NASA has you covered.
Georgina Torbet
Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings. In this image blue represents light at 1.5 microns (F150W), cyan 1.64 and 2.0 microns (F164N, F200W), yellow 3.23 microns (F323N), orange 4.05 microns (F405N), and red 4.44 microns (F444W).

This famous supernova remnant is hiding a secret

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have peered into the famous SN 1987A supernova remnant and found something special inside.
Georgina Torbet
This collection of 19 face-on spiral galaxies from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope in near- and mid-infrared light is at once overwhelming and awe-inspiring. Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured millions of stars in these images. Older stars appear blue here, and are clustered at the galaxies’ cores. The telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) observations highlight glowing dust, showing where it exists around and between stars – appearing in shades of red and orange. Stars that haven’t yet fully formed and are encased in gas and dust appear bright red.

See 19 gorgeous face-on spiral galaxies in new James Webb data

A stunning new set of images from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the variety of forms that exist within spiral galaxies like our Milky Way
Georgina Torbet
This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope features an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. This nebula, known as N79, is a region of interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionised, captured here by Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI).

James Webb snaps a stunning stellar nursery in a nearby satellite galaxy

A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a star-forming region in the nearby galaxy of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Georgina Torbet
Two new stamps celebrating the James Webb Space Telescope, issued by the USPS in January 2024.

James Webb Space Telescope celebrated on new stamps

Beautiful images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope have landed on a new set of stamps issued this week by the U.S. Postal Service.
Trevor Mogg
This image of Uranus from NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the planet and its rings in new clarity. The Webb image exquisitely captures Uranus’s seasonal north polar cap, including the bright, white, inner cap and the dark lane in the bottom of the polar cap. Uranus’ dim inner and outer rings are also visible in this image, including the elusive Zeta ring—the extremely faint and diffuse ring closest to the planet.

James Webb captures a unique view of Uranus’s ring system

A festive new image from the James Webb Space Telescope has been released, showing the stunning rings of Uranus.
Georgina Torbet
The central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs.

James Webb spots tiniest known brown dwarf in stunning star cluster

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a stunning view of a star cluster that contains one of the smallest brown dwarfs ever identified.
Georgina Torbet
A new high-definition image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) unveils intricate details of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), and shows the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded. The most noticeable colors in Webb’s newest image are clumps of bright orange and light pink that make up the inner shell of the supernova remnant. These tiny knots of gas, comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself, are only detectable by NIRCam’s exquisite resolution, and give researchers a hint at how the dying star shattered like glass when it exploded.

James Webb provides a second view of an exploded star

A beautiful supernova remnant, Cassiopeia A, was recently imaged by the James Webb telescope. See how the observation compares to a previous MIRI image.
Georgina Torbet
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope reveals intricate details of the Herbig Haro object 797 (HH 797). Herbig-Haro objects are luminous regions surrounding newborn stars (known as protostars), and are formed when stellar winds or jets of gas spewing from these newborn stars form shockwaves colliding with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. HH 797, which dominates the lower half of this image, is located close to the young open star cluster IC 348, which is located near the eastern edge of the Perseus dark cloud complex. The bright infrared objects in the upper portion of the image are thought to host two further protostars. This image was captured with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam).

James Webb telescope captures a dramatic image of newborn star

A new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope shows the dramatic outflows from a young star.
Georgina Torbet
This is an artist’s impression of a young star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk in which planets are forming.

James Webb finds that rocky planets could form in extreme radiation environment

The James Webb Space Telescope investigated a disk that could be forming rocky planets, even though nearby massive stars are pumping out significant radiation.
Georgina Torbet
An artists rendering of a blue and white exoplanet known as WASP-80 b, set on a star-studded black background. Alternating horizontal layers of cloudy white, grey and blue cover the planets surface. To the right of the planet, a rendering of the chemical methane is depicted with four hydrogen atoms bonded to a central carbon atom, representing methane within the exoplanet's atmosphere. An artist’s rendering of the warm exoplanet WASP-80 b whose color may appear bluish to human eyes due to the lack of high-altitude clouds and the presence of atmospheric methane identified by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, similar to the planets Uranus and Neptune in our own solar system.

How astronomers used James Webb to detect methane in the atmosphere of an exoplanet

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope recently announced they had made a rare detection of methane in an exoplanet atmosphere.
Georgina Torbet
The full view of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument reveals a 50 light-years-wide portion of the Milky Way’s dense centre. An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this image of the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region, along with some as-yet unidentified features. A vast region of ionised hydrogen, shown in cyan, wraps around an infrared-dark cloud, which is so dense that it blocks the light from distant stars behind it. Intriguing needle-like structures in the ionised hydrogen emission lack any uniform orientation. Researchers note the surprising extent of the ionised region, covering about 25 light-years. A cluster of protostars – stars that are still forming and gaining mass – are producing outflows that glow like a bonfire at the base of the large infrared-dark cloud, indicating that they are emerging from the cloud’s protective cocoon and will soon join the ranks of the more mature stars around them. Smaller infrared-dark clouds dot the scene, appearing like holes in the starfield. Researchers say they have only begun to dig into the wealth of unprecedented high-resolution data that Webb has provided on this region, and many features bear detailed study. This includes the rose-coloured clouds on the right side of the image, which have never been seen in such detail.

Stunning James Webb image shows the beating heart of our Milky Way

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the heart of our galaxy, in a region close to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Georgina Torbet
An artist's rendition of NASA's SPHEREx space mission.

Scientists disagree on how fast the universe is expanding, and new tech is making it worse

Usually new tech brings us closer to understanding more of the universe, but in the field of cosmology, one uncertainty is only getting worse.
Georgina Torbet
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