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Toward the top, right, and bottom are orange clouds of dust and gas filled with many white, blue, and purple stars. The roughly circular orange clouds look like an open jaw, facing left.

A spiral galaxy seen at a skewed angle. Its center is a bright spot radiating light. A thick, stormy disk of material surrounds this bright center, with swirling strands of dark dust and bright spots of star formation strewn through the disk. A large spiral arm extends from the disk toward the viewer. Some foreground stars are visible atop the galaxy.

What looks like a single large, bright star (but is two) shines with bright purple diffraction spikes at the center of a large, diffuse cylinder of gas and dust that is tipped to the right. At the center is a bright pink clumpy cloud that takes up about 25% of the view. The pink region has some holes and diffuse areas. Beyond that are two large rings seen at a roughly 60-degree angle that appear joined at top left and bottom right. The edges are denser, and form shallow V-shapes that go inward. The rings appear orange at top left and bottom right, and are blue at bottom and center right. There is diffuse orange material around the body. The black background of space is speckled with tiny stars and galaxies mostly in blues and yellows. A bigger blue star with spikes is just below and to the left of the central stars, but it is slightly smaller. Areas Webb did not observe are along the top edges, a thin vertical near the nebula at top left, and at the bottom left and right corners.

Cosmic Origins

How did we get here? Answering this question is the key goal of the Cosmic Origins Program and one of the overarching goals of NASA Astrophysics.

Answering the hard questions

How did we get here?

Answering this question is the key goal of the Cosmic Origins Program and one of the overarching goals of NASA Astrophysics. As a cornerstone of NASA Astrophysics, the program studies the universe from its beginning in the Big Bang, through the formation of stars and galaxies, to the creation of the elements forged within those stars. By tracing how these elements gave rise to planets and, ultimately, to life, Cosmic Origins connects the story of the cosmos to our own existence.

Colorful butterfly-shaped nebula.

NASA, ESA, Joel Kastner (RIT)

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The next AI / ML STIG lecture will be held on December 8th (Monday) at 4:00pm ET/1:00pm PT

Cosmic Origins at the American Astronomical Society Meeting

The 247th AAS meeting (joint with the Historical Astronomy Division) will be held 4-8 January in Phoenix, Arizona at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Against a black background, a peculiar galaxy is in the center and takes up most of the frame. This asymmetrical object has distorted spiral arms that extend to the left, above, and to the lower right. The galaxy’s arms are light orange and are not smooth or solid in texture, instead resembling blots and streaks of paint. The galaxy’s distorted spiral arms are overlaid by a light blue ridge of blurry blotches, which are brightest and heaviest in the center and fainter toward the left, ending before the orange areas. The blue blotches also extend to the bottom at the center and faintly toward the top center, but are not seen toward the right. A bright, almost-white orange point is near the center right and has a hazy halo surrounding it, taking up about a tenth of the image. Over the majority of the image is a semi-transparent, elliptical-shaped area that has a white, fuzzy glow.

Latest Podcast

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 139: NASA's Cosmic Origins Program

NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program seeks to understand the origins of the universe, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planets. In this episode, Dr. Swara Ravindranath, deputy chief scientist, and Dr. Ron Gamble, a theoretical astrophysicist, discuss their research and the program's goals. They also highlight the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences.

An illustration of an astronaut jumping from the moon toward Mars.

Featured Videos

XRISM Exploring the Hidden X-ray Cosmos

Watch this video to learn more about XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission), a collaboration between JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA.

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A black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, ranging in color from white to yellow to orange to red. Some galaxies are distorted, appearing to be stretched out or mirror imaged. Just to the left of the center of the image, there is a long, red arc that stretches from 2 o’clock to 7 o’clock. At its left, is a cluster of a few white galaxies that look like a glowing orb. To the right of the center of the image, the red arc and glowing orb of galaxies at the left appear to be mirrored. The right-hand red arc stretches from 3 o’clock to 5 o’clock, the glowing orb of galaxies is at its right.

Expansion Rate: The Hubble Tension

In this video, Nobel Laureate Dr. Adam Riess explains this phenomenon known as “Hubble Tension,” and how important this mystery is to our understanding of the universe.

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Galaxy Cluster MACS J1206

Mystery of Galaxy’s Missing Dark Matter Deepens

Finding a galaxy lacking the invisible stuff is an extraordinary claim that challenges conventional wisdom. It would have the potential to upset theories of galaxy formation and evolution.

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A New Portrait of the Cosmos is Coming

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, formerly known as WFIRST, is an upcoming space telescope designed to perform wide-field imaging and spectroscopy of the infrared sky.

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Eye on Infinity: NASA Celebrates Hubble’s 35th Year in Orbit

After more than three decades of perusing the universe, Hubble remains a household name — the most well-recognized and scientifically productive telescope in history. The Hubble mission is a glowing success story of America’s technological prowess, unyielding scientific curiosity, and a reiteration of our nation’s pioneering spirit.

Composite shows portions of four Hubble images from left to right. First, the left half of Mars in shades of orange, blues, and browns. Second, a tiny portion of the Rosette Nebula shows very dark gray material against a translucent blue background. Third, a portion of planetary nebula NGC 2899 looks like the number three in shades of red and orange. Fourth, the center of barred spiral galaxy NGC 5335 has a milky yellow center that forms a bar surrounded by the beginnings of blue star-filled spiral arms.

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