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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.

Comparison of three telescope images side by side. They are roughly spherical but pixelated, with more intense color saturation in the center. From left to right: smallest sphere is blue and labeled H2O, orange is larger and labeled CO2, and red is largest and labeled CO. A scale bar at the lower left is labeled 1300 km/1 arcsecond and is about one fourth of each of the three images. A compass at the lower right shows north pointing up to 12 o’clock, east pointing left to 9 o’clock, and a fainter arrow labeled to Sun pointing down to 8 o’clock.
Researchers used the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map specific chemical contents of comet 3I/ATLAS as it moved away from the Sun. 
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Martin Cordiner (CUA, NASA-GSFC); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
Featured Story

NASA’s Webb Finds Clues to Ancient, Distant Origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS

As interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began moving away from the Sun in December 2025, astronomers took the opportunity to turn NASA’s…

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

Hubble Details Early Galaxy Transforming Neighborhood

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found something they never expected — ultraviolet light from a galaxy that existed…

Jun 23, 2026
Article
NASA’s Webb Pinpoints Millions of Stars Within Cigar Galaxy

Located 12 million light-years away and undergoing rapid star formation, edge-on spiral galaxy Messier 82 (M82) is a scientifically unique…

Jun 23, 2026
Article
M82 Cigar Galaxy (Webb + Hubble)

Scientists used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to image edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82 and trace its evolutionary history. This…

Jun 23, 2026
Image
M82 Cigar Galaxy (NIRCam Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82, peering through dust to reveal 16.5 million stars and…

Jun 23, 2026
Image
M82 Cigar Galaxy (Hubble/Webb Side-by-Side)

Side-by-side comparison of a portion of starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82) as seen by NASA’s Hubble (left) and James Webb…

Jun 23, 2026
Image
M82 Cigar Galaxy (Compass Image)

Annotated image of the starburst galaxy Messier 82 captured by Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument, with compass arrows, a scale…

Jun 23, 2026
Image
M82 Cigar Galaxy (Webb + Hubble Fade)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared imaging survey of Messier 82 (M82) is the most recent observation of this starburst…

Jun 23, 2026
Video
NASA’s Webb Finds Clues to Ancient, Distant Origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS

As interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began moving away from the Sun in December 2025, astronomers took the opportunity to turn NASA’s…

Jun 22, 2026
Article
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (NIRSpec IFU)

Researchers used the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map specific chemical contents of comet…

Jun 22, 2026
Image
3I/ATLAS Compared to Solar System Comets

These graphs lay out the significant difference in composition between the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and comets originating in our solar…

Jun 22, 2026
Image
Stages of Star Formation

This image, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and released on June 5, 2026, shows just a small portion…

Jun 18, 2026
Image Article
NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted

That’s the latest from researchers analyzing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of HD 80606 b, an exoplanet four times…

Jun 16, 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

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
Webb Researchers Discover Lensed Supernova, Confirm Hubble Tension

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

Oct 1, 2024
Blog


Latest 2026 Images

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Webb unveils young stars across every stage of formation

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