Found: First Actively Forming Galaxy as Lightweight as Young Milky Way
For the first time, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected and “weighed” a galaxy that not only existed around 600 million years after the big bang, but is also similar to what our Milky Way galaxy’s mass might have been at the same stage of development. Other galaxies Webb has detected at this time […]
Sombrero Galaxy Dazzles in New Webb Image
Researchers say the clumpy nature of the dust, where MIRI detects carbon-containing molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, can indicate the presence of young star-forming regions. However, unlike some galaxies studied with Webb, including Messier 82, where 10 times as many stars are born as in the Milky Way galaxy, the Sombrero galaxy is not a […]
On Webbb’s Second Anniversary, it Portrays an Interaction Between Galaxies
The James Webb Space Telescope takes constant observations, including images and highly detailed data known as spectra. Its operations have led to a ‘parade’ of discoveries by astronomers around the world. It has never felt more possible to explore every facet of the Universe. The telescope’s specialisation in capturing infrared light – which is beyond […]
Pillars of Creation Star in New Visualization
Made famous in 1995 by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, ethereal beauty. Now, NASA has released a new 3D visualization of these towering celestial structures using data from NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the […]
NASA’s Webb Maps Weather on Planet 280 Light-Years Away
By Space Telescope Science Insitute An international team of researchers has successfully used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map the weather on the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b. Precise brightness measurements over a broad spectrum of mid-infrared light, combined with 3D climate models and previous observations from other telescopes, suggest the presence of thick, […]
Webb depicts staggering structure in 19 nearby spiral galaxies (Video)
If you follow each of the galaxy’s clearly defined arms, which are brimming with stars, to their centres, there may be old star clusters and – sometimes – active supermassive black holes. Only the James Webb Space Telescope can deliver highly detailed scenes of nearby galaxies in a combination of near- and mid-infrared light – […]
Webb Rings in the Holidays With the Ringed Planet Uranus
With its exquisite sensitivity, Webb captured Uranus’ dim inner and outer rings, including the elusive Zeta ring—the extremely faint and diffuse ring closest to the planet. It also imaged many of the planet’s 27 known moons, even seeing some small moons within the rings. In visible wavelengths, Uranus appeared as a placid, solid blue ball. […]
Webb, Hubble Combine to Create Most Colourful View of Universe (Video)
The result: a vivid landscape of galaxies along with more than a dozen newly found time-varying objects This panchromatic view of galaxy cluster MACS0416 was created by combining infrared observations from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. To make the image, in general the shortest wavelengths […]
NASA’s Webb Snaps Supersonic Outflow of Young Star
Herbig-Haro (HH) objects are luminous regions surrounding newborn stars, formed when stellar winds or jets of gas spewing from these newborn stars form shock waves colliding with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. This image of HH 211 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals an outflow from a Class 0 protostar, an infantile […]
Webb Reveals Details Never Before Seen in Cassiopeia A
The explosion of a star is a dramatic event, but the remains the star leaves behind can be even more dramatic. A new mid-infrared image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope provides one stunning example. It shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), created by a stellar explosion 340 years ago from Earth’s perspective. […]