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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

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

This image is from Webb’s NIRCam instrument, which saw this nebula in the near-infrared.

extending the tantalizing discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Engineers Prep James Webb Telescope for Integration

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

Webb Lagrange Points

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

NASA’s Webb Sunshield Successfully Unfolds and Tensions in Final Tests

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.

The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago

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

Artist’s concept of a star and its debris disk against the black background of space. The star is in the background, right of center, and depicted as a small, luminous sphere. The debris disk is a large blue ring that encircles the star. The debris disk is angled toward the viewer, so that the portion nearest to the viewer extends beyond the bottom frame of the illustration. Many dark, rocky fragments are scattered throughout the debris disk. In the foreground, toward the left, is a small planetary embryo colliding into the left side of a larger spherical object. The impact site glows bright yellow and orange and has a mottled appearance, as though chunks of both colliding bodies are breaking up and being destroyed. Orange-yellow streams of vapor extend outward from the collision area. Behind the debris disk and its star are many small stars in the background. A label in the bottom right corner reads “Artist’s Concept.”
The types of collisions within young stellar systems known as extreme debris disks are relevant to scientists’ understanding of our own solar system, which is thought to have undergone similar impact events that created our Moon and shaped Earth’s initial state.
Artwork: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
Featured Story

NASA’s Webb Provides Crash Course on Planet-Shattering Collisions

In the early history of our solar system, scientists theorize that a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant…

Read the Story

Latest News

The feed below is a mix of Webb Science Releases and associated images/videos, Webb Science Blogs, Webb press releases and articles tagged with "James Webb Space Telescope". To filter out everything except the Webb Science Releases (or Science Blogs) - simply select that filter check box. Webb Science Releases, images, videos and Webb's Science Blogs can also be filtered by Webb's four primary science themes.

Filter, Search and Sort Notes: Initial filtered results displayed below show articles that match all of the filters listed for all dates. Once one or more article type filters checked (Images, Science Blogs, Science Releases, Videos), only articles that match the checked filters (logical ORd) are displayed within the date range if selected. When a Webb-Theme is selected, that filters a subset of the article types selected. The "Search Latest Content" box searches for the terms entered within the subset of filtered articles. You can also sort the results by date in descending (newest first) or ascending (oldest first).

Filters

Date Range

NASA’s Webb Provides Crash Course on Planet-Shattering Collisions

In the early history of our solar system, scientists theorize that a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant…

Oct 1, 2026
Article
Extreme Debris Disk (Artist’s Concept)

The types of collisions within young stellar systems known as extreme debris disks are relevant to scientists’ understanding of our…

Oct 1, 2026
Image
Composition of Extreme Debris Disks Across Time

By investigating the compositions of extreme debris disks, scientists inferred that silica-rich disks are produced by high-energy impacts of Mars-sized…

Oct 1, 2026
Image
Centaurus A Poster

Download and print a mini poster featuring an image of the galaxy Centaurus A captured in 2026 by NASA's James…

Sep 25, 2026
Image
NASA’s Webb Reveals Dynamic Panorama of Star Formation

This starry view of the nearby star-forming region IC 348 is one of the largest images released to date from…

Sep 15, 2026
Article
IC 348 (NIRCam Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently observed IC 348, a star-forming region just 1,000 light-years away from Earth. Webb’s sharp…

Sep 15, 2026
Image
IC 348 Collage

This collage features a collection of insets from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s image of star-forming region IC 348: embedded…

Sep 15, 2026
Image
NASA’s Hubble, Webb Find Far-out Solar System Objects ‘Remember’ Past

For the first time, scientists used the joint power of NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to study some…

Sep 8, 2026
Article
Trans-Neptunian Object Illustration

This artist’s concept depicts a Trans-Neptunian Object, a small, faint, icy body orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune.…

Sep 8, 2026
Image
Fast and Furious Star Formation in Starburst Galaxies

While our Sun was born almost five billion years ago, there are brand new stars forming today. Within our Milky…

Aug 26, 2026
Video
Webb Opens Treasure Chest

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this Aug. 6, 2026, infrared image of part of the Carina Nebula, a star-forming…

Aug 21, 2026
Image Article
Lion Nebula Roars to Life With NASA’s Webb

Observing across the starry “plains” of space, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken new images of NGC 2392, nicknamed…

Aug 10, 2026
Article

Webb's Blog

This feed only contains articles from Webb's Blog which offers an insider's point of view covering a variety of topics. The feed below supports a deeper dive into Webb's Blog which contains early release science (not yet peer reviewed) as well as blogs on Webb Mission Operations and Webb Engineering posts - you can also filter Webb Science Blogs by Webb's four primary science themes.

Filters

Date Range

Webb Unravels Small Cosmic Details With Interferometry Observing Mode

One of the most recognizable features of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is its large, segmented, gold-coated mirror, which delivers…

Aug 4, 2026
Blog
NASA’s Webb Detects Methane on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has collected its first mid-infrared chemical fingerprint of an interstellar object during a recent revisit…

Jun 1, 2026
Blog
How NASA’s Webb Helped Rule Out Asteroid’s Chance of 2032 Lunar Impact

Editor’s Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process.…

Mar 6, 2026
Blog
New NASA Asteroid Observations Eliminate Chance of 2032 Lunar Impact

Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observations collected on Feb. 18 and 26, experts from NASA’s Center for…

Mar 5, 2026
Blog
NASA’s Webb Space Telescope Observes Interstellar Comet

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS Aug. 6, with its Near-Infrared Spectrograph instrument. The research team has…

Aug 25, 2025
Blog
New Moon Discovered Orbiting Uranus Using NASA’s Webb Telescope

Editor’s Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process.…

Aug 19, 2025
Blog
NASA’s Webb Finds Possible ‘Direct Collapse’ Black Hole

Editor’s Note: This post highlights a combination of peer-reviewed results and data from Webb science in progress, which has not…

Jul 15, 2025
Blog
NASA’s Webb Observations Update Asteroid 2024 YR4’s Lunar Impact Odds

While asteroid 2024 YR4 is currently too distant to detect with telescopes from Earth, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope collected one…

Jun 5, 2025
Blog
How NASA’s Webb Telescope Supports Our Search for Life Beyond Earth

This artist’s concept shows what exoplanet K2-18 b could look like based on science data. K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6…

Apr 18, 2025
Blog
NASA’s Webb Finds Asteroid 2024 YR4 Is Building-Sized

Editor’s Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process. These…

Apr 2, 2025
Blog
NASA’s Webb Reveals the Ancient Surfaces of Trans-Neptunian Objects

Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are icy bodies ranging in size from Pluto and Eris (dwarf planets with diameters of about 1,500…

Feb 12, 2025
Blog
Monitoring Webb’s Mirrors for Optimal Optics

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is the largest and most powerful telescope ever launched to space. Its mirror is composed…

Nov 8, 2024
Blog


Latest 2026 Images

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NASA Webb Uncovers Unusual Galaxy Shaped by Cosmic Collision (MIRI)

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