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Explore This Section
Webb
News
Overview
Science
Observatory
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More


JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE

Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of
astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the history of our Universe.


active Mission

Featured Image

Latest News

Latest Images



Webb studies every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first
luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of
supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.
Webb launched on Dec. 25th 2021. It does not orbit around the Earth like the
Hubble Space Telescope, it orbits the Sun 1.5 million kilometers (1 million
miles) away from the Earth at what is called the second Lagrange point or L2. 

 * 
 * 
 * 
   

Mission Type

Astrophysics

Partners

NASA/ESA/CSA

Launch

Dec 25, 2021

Arrival at L2

Jan 24, 2022


KEY FACTS

Fact Sheet



PREMIERE TELESCOPE OF NEXT DECADE

extending the tantalizing discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope.




FOLDING DESIGN

So big it has to fold origami-style to fit in the rocket and will unfold like a
“Transformer” in space.




1.5 MILLION KM

Webb orbits the Sun 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth. (Hubble orbits 560
kilometers above the Earth.)




SPF 1 MILLION

Webb has a 5-layer sunshield that protects the telescope from the infrared
radiation of the Sun, Earth, and Moon; like having sun protection of SPF 1
million.




UNPRECEDENTED SENSITIVITY

iIt will peer back in time over 13.5 billion years to see the first galaxies
born after the Big Bang.in the ISS.





FEATURED IMAGE/ARTICLE

NASA’s Webb Reveals Unusual Jets of Volatile Gas from Icy Centaur 29P

Inspired by the half-human, half-horse creatures that are part of Ancient Greek
mythology, the field of astronomy has its own kind of centaurs: distant objects
orbiting the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
has mapped the gases spewing from one of these objects, suggesting a varied
composition and providing new insights into the formation and evolution of the
solar system.



An artist’s concept of Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1’s outgassing activity
as seen from the side. While prior radio-wavelength observations showed a jet of
gas pointed toward Earth, astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to
gather additional insight on the front jet’s composition and noted three more
jets of gas spewing from Centaur 29P’s surface.
NASA, ESA, CSA, L. Hustak (STScI)


LATEST NEWS

Webb's latest news releases in reverse chronological order. Search and sort the
news feed with the controls immediately below.


Search

Search
Sort:Publish date

Order:Descending



NASA’S WEBB REVEALS UNUSUAL JETS OF VOLATILE GAS FROM ICY CENTAUR 29P

Inspired by the half-human, half-horse creatures that are part of Ancient Greek
mythology, the field of astronomy has its own kind of centaurs: distant objects
orbiting the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
has mapped the…

Article3 weeks ago


IN ODD GALAXY, NASA’S WEBB FINDS POTENTIAL MISSING LINK TO FIRST STARS

Looking deep into the early universe with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope,
astronomers have found something unprecedented: a galaxy with an odd light
signature, which they attribute to its gas outshining its stars. Found
approximately one billion years after the…

Article4 weeks ago


NASA’S WEBB PROVIDES ANOTHER LOOK INTO GALACTIC COLLISIONS

Smile for the camera! An interaction between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral
galaxy, collectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier
outlook thanks to the two bright “eyes” and the wide semicircular “smile.” The…

Article1 month ago


NASA’S WEBB PEERS INTO THE EXTREME OUTER GALAXY

Astronomers have directed NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to examine the
outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists call this region the Extreme Outer
Galaxy due to its location more than 58,000 light-years away from the Galactic
Center. (For comparison,…

Article1 month ago
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Insider's View


WEBB'S BLOG

Webb's Blog posts offer an insider's point of view covering a variety of topics
that include exciting Webb science images/spectra that are not yet peer reviewed
and therefore not released as NASA feature articles ( IE the above official Webb
News Feed). Blog posts are often co-authored by scientists and engineers and
offer unique insights.

Read Webb's Blog
A slice of the original image. Webb took its first near-infrared look at Saturn
on June 25. The planet appears extremely dark at this wavelength, as methane gas
in its atmosphere absorbs sunlight, but its rings stay bright! This image was
taken as part of a Webb science program designed to test the telescope’s
capacity to detect faint moons around the planet and study its bright rings.
Take a closer look here to find details within the planet's ring system, as well
as the moons Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys. Saturn’s rings are made up of an
array of rocky and icy fragments – the particles range in size from smaller than
a grain of sand to a few as large as mountains on Earth.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Matt Tiscareno (SETI Institute), Matt Hedman (University
of Idaho), Maryame El Moutamid (Cornell University), Mark Showalter (SETI
Institute), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Heidi Hammel (AURA). Image
processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)


LATEST WEBB BLOG


WEBB RESEARCHERS DISCOVER LENSED SUPERNOVA, CONFIRM HUBBLE TENSION

Measuring the Hubble constant, the rate at which the universe is expanding, is
an active area of research among astronomers around the world who analyze data
from both ground- and space- based observatories. NASA’s James Webb Space
Telescope has already contributed to this ongoing discussion. Earlier this year,
astronomers used Webb data containing Cepheid variables and Type Ia supernovae,
reliable distance markers to measure the universe’s expansion rate, to confirm
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope’s previous measurements.

Read More


LATEST WEBB BLOG


WEBB RESEARCHERS DISCOVER LENSED SUPERNOVA, CONFIRM HUBBLE TENSION





LATEST 2024 IMAGES

The image below is a SLIDESHOW. Hover over the image to see the image title and
controls. Click the image to go to a detail page with more info and the ability
to download the image at various resolutions (click downward arrow in lower
right corner).

View Slideshow as Thumbnail Gallery (new tab)



MORE WEBB IMAGES

   


 * IMAGES 2023
   
   Science images from 2023.
   
   


 * IMAGES 2022
   
   Science images from 2022.
   
   


 * FIRST IMAGES
   
   Webb's first science images released in July of 2022 just after commissioning
   was completed.
   
   


 * MORE WEBB IMAGES
   
   Images from Webb's testing and commissioning, road to launch from the US to
   ESA's launch facility in French Guiana, Webb's launch, Webb's development and
   more.
   
   


 * ABOUT WEBB IMAGES
   
   The where, why and how of Webb images.
   
   
   

Webb Observation tracking TOOL


WHAT IS WEBB OBSERVING?

See current, upcoming and recent past observations scientists are making with
the Webb Space Telescope. View details about each observation's science focus
areas, the instruments used and more. 

View the Tool


About


THE WEBB MISSION

Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of
astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the history of our Universe,
ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of
solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution
of our own Solar System.

Learn More
This is a photo of one of the James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror
segments coated with gold by Quantum Coating Incorporated. It's NOT a flight
segment, it's the engineering design unit. The photo was taken at BATC by Drew
Noel.
Photo by Drew Noel

About


WEBB'S SCIENCE GOALS

The James Webb Space Telescope is a giant leap forward in our quest to
understand the Universe and our origins. Webb is examining every phase of cosmic
history: from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang to the formation of
galaxies, stars, and planets to the evolution of our own solar system. Learn
about the 4 main science themes for Webb.

Learn More
NASA’s Webb Captures Dying Star’s Final ‘Performance’ in Fine Detail
NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

About


THE SPACECRAFT

The Webb Space Telescope is the largest, most powerful and most complex
telescope ever launched into space . It's design and development history
stretches back before the Hubble Space Telescope was launched.  Learn about the
design, the major components and subsystems of Webb and see Webb in 3d in a 3d
Solar System.

Learn More


About


THE INTERNATIONAL WEBB TEAM

Webb is for the world, and from the world. Thousands of skilled scientists,
engineers and technicians from 14 countries (and more than  29 U.S. states, and
Washington, D.C.) contributed to the design, build, test, integration, launch,
commissioning and operations of Webb. It is a joint NASA/ESA/CSA mission.
Assembly and testing of the mirror and instruments occurred at NASA Goddard
(GSFC).

Learn More
A full disk view of the earth from GOES 16, GOES East on the vernal Equinox.
NOAA/NASA

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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of
humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.

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