Tag: James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
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3 Years of Science: 10 Cosmic Surprises from NASA’s Webb Telescope
Since July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been unwaveringly focused on our universe. With its unprecedented power to detect and analyze otherwise invisible infrared light, Webb is making observations that were once impossible, changing our view of the…
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NASA Webb ‘Pierces’ Bullet Cluster, Refines Its Mass
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently zeroed in on the Bullet Cluster — delivering highly detailed images that show a greater abundance of extremely faint and distant galaxies than ever before. Using Webb’s crisp near-infrared observations of this region, researchers…
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NASA’s Webb Digs into Structural Origins of Disk Galaxies
Present-day disk galaxies often contain a thick, star-filled outer disk and an embedded thin disk of stars. For instance, our own Milky Way galaxy’s thick disk is approximately 3,000 light-years in height, and its thin disk is roughly 1,000 light-years…
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Likely Saturn-Mass Planet Imaged by NASA Webb Is Lightest Ever Seen
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have captured compelling evidence of a planet with a mass similar to Saturn orbiting the young nearby star TWA 7. If confirmed, this would represent Webb’s first direct image discovery of a planet,…
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NASA’s Webb ‘UNCOVERs’ Galaxy Population Driving Cosmic Renovation
Astronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified dozens of small galaxies that played a starring role in a cosmic makeover that transformed the early universe into the one we know today. “When it comes to producing…
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Frigid Exoplanet in Strange Orbit Imaged by NASA’s Webb
A planetary system described as abnormal, chaotic, and strange by researchers has come into clearer view with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), researchers have successfully imaged one of two known planets surrounding the star 14…
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3 Black Holes Caught Eating Massive Stars in NASA Data
Black holes are invisible to us unless they interact with something else. Some continuously eat gas and dust, and appear to glow brightly over time as matter falls in. But other black holes secretly lie in wait for years until…
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NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk
After capturing an image of the iconic Sombrero galaxy at mid-infrared wavelengths in late 2024, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now followed up with an observation in the near-infrared. In the newest image, the Sombrero galaxy’s huge bulge, the…
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Another First: NASA Webb Identifies Frozen Water in Young Star System
Is frozen water scattered in systems around other stars? Astronomers have long expected it is, partially based on previous detections of its gaseous form, water vapor, and its presence in our own solar system. Now there is definitive evidence: Researchers…
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Webb’s Titan Forecast: Partly Cloudy With Occasional Methane Showers
Saturn’s moon Titan is an intriguing world cloaked in a yellowish, smoggy haze. Similar to Earth, the atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and has weather, including clouds and rain. Unlike Earth, whose weather is driven by evaporating and condensing water, frigid…