Webb Kicks Off a New Era in Astronomy

NASA Reveals Webb Telescope’s First Images of the Unseen Universe

The dawn of a new era of astronomy is here . . . and our James Webb Space Telescope is just getting started.

The world got its first look at the full capabilities of the telescope, an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, when the full set of its first full-color images and spectroscopic data were unveiled during a live broadcast on Tuesday, July 12.

See the first images from the biggest, most powerful space telescope ever made:

Webb's First Deep Field – Webb has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. This image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago, with many more galaxies in front of and behind the cluster. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.

Steamy Atmosphere – Webb captured the distinct signature of water, along with evidence for clouds and haze, in the atmosphere surrounding WASP-96 b. Observation of this hot, Jupiter-like exoplanet demonstrates Webb’s ability to analyze atmospheres more than a thousand light-years away, marking a huge leap forward in the quest to characterize potentially habitable planets beyond Earth.

Last Performance of a Dying Star – NGC 3132, known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula, is a planetary nebula - clouds of gas and dust expelled by a dying low-mass star- about 2,500 light-years away. There are actually two stars at the center of this image. Webb has revealed for the first time that this nebula’s dimmer star is cloaked in dust.

A Galactic Quintet – This enormous mosaic of Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies, is Webb’s largest image to date. Containing over 150 million pixels, the image shows never-before-seen details in this galaxy group – sparkling clusters of young stars, sweeping tails of gas, and huge shock waves as one of the galaxies, NGC 7318B, smashes through the cluster.

Cosmic Cliffs – This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.

The release of these images kicks off the beginning of Webb’s science operations. Astronomers around the world will use Webb to investigate everything from objects within our solar system to the early universe using Webb’s four powerful instruments.

The telescope will unlock mysteries in our solar system, get new details about distant worlds orbiting other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.

All About the Webb Telescope

This Week at NASA

Special Delivery – Earlier this week, SpaceX’s Dragon resupply spacecraft lifted off from our Kennedy Space Center, carrying more than 5,800 pounds of cargo – including a new mineral dust detector – to lower Earth orbit. Watch live as it docks to the space station on Saturday, July 16:

Watch on NASA Live

Decade of Excellence – NASA has been named the Best Place to Work in the Federal Government for the 10th consecutive year, reflecting the agency’s commitment to supporting its workforce while carrying out its mission of exploring the unknown for the benefit of all.