Due to the lapse in federal government funding, NASA is not updating this website.

Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Quasar J0100+2802 (NIRCam Compass Image)

Quasar J0100+2802 image with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key.

This image centered on quasar J0100+2802, captured by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.

The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above). The scale bar is labeled 1 arcminute.

This image shows invisible near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter. In this image, blue, green, and red were assigned to NIRCam data at 1.15, 2, and 3.65 microns (F115W, F200W, and F365W), respectively.

Read the full image caption.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    01:00:13.02
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +28:02:25.8
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Pisces
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    12.8 billion lights years to quasar SDSS J0100+2802
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Field is about 6.7 arcminutes across

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 1243 (S. Lilly)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    22 Aug 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F115W, F200W, F356W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Quasar SDSS J0100+2802, EIGER (Emission-line galaxies and Intergalactic Gas in the Epoch of Reionization) Survey
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Deep field survey
  • Release Date
    June 12, 2023
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Proves Galaxies Transformed the Early Universe
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Simon Lilly (ETH Zurich), Daichi Kashino (Nagoya University), Jorryt Matthee (ETH Zurich), Christina Eilers (MIT), Rob Simcoe (MIT), Rongmon Bordoloi (NCSU), Ruari Mackenzie (ETH Zurich); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Ruari Mackenzie (ETH Zurich)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Display), 13345 × 9188
    png (122.1 MB)
  • Full Res (For Print), 13345 × 9188
    tif (118.44 MB)
  • 2000 × 1377
    png (2.32 MB)
Quasar J0100+2802 image with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:   Blue: F115W Green: F200W Red: F356W

Related Images & Videos

Thousands of tiny galaxies appear across the black expanse of space. The galaxy colors vary. Some of the smallest galaxies are shades of orange and pink. Most galaxies are so distant they appear as single points of light. At the center is a pink object with six diffraction spikes. This is quasar J0100+2802. It appears slightly smaller than the foreground stars, which appear blue.

Quasar J0100+2802 (NIRCam Image)

There are more than 20,000 galaxies in this field. This James Webb Space Telescope view is found between the Pisces and Andromeda constellations. Researchers using Webb anchored their observations on quasar J0100+2802, an active supermassive black hole that acts like a beacon....

Six galaxies appear in boxes, three by two. All carry an EIGER label at top left. The galaxies look like faint smudges: faint paintbrush strokes with dots, or small points of light. Most appear in pinks and reds, though a few contain some purple or blue.

Distant Galaxy Samples Near Quasar J0100+2802 (NIRCam Image)

The James Webb Space Telescope has returned extraordinarily detailed images and spectra of galaxies that existed when the universe was only 900 million years old. “In Webb’s near-infrared image, we can see structures in every individual galaxy that the telescope detected,”...

Four-part illustration. Top left: Tiny teal irregular blobs appear over a lighter medium blue background. Top right: The irregular blobs are all bigger, and the middle two are overlapping. Bottom left: Bigger irregular blobs that still have varying sizes, many adjoining. Bottom right: Continuous dark blue background has hazy spiral shapes across the scene.

Conditions During the Era of Reionization (Illustration)

More than 13 billion years ago, during the Era of Reionization, the universe was a very different place. The gas between galaxies was largely opaque to energetic light, making it difficult to observe young galaxies. As stars and young galaxies continued to form and evolve, they...

Share

Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, Simon Lilly (ETH Zurich), Daichi Kashino (Nagoya University), Jorryt Matthee (ETH Zurich), Christina Eilers (MIT), Rob Simcoe (MIT), Rongmon Bordoloi (NCSU), Ruari Mackenzie (ETH Zurich)

Image Processing Credit

Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Ruari Mackenzie (ETH Zurich)

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

Space Telescope

Science Overview

Webb Observatory

Webb Image Galleries