NASA’s Hubble, Webb Probe Surprisingly Smooth Disk Around Vega

Hubble Space Telescope Home NASA’s Hubble, Webb… Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble…

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Webb Sees Gassy Baby Stars

In this image of the Serpens Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found a grouping of aligned protostellar outflows within one small region (the top left corner). Serpens is a reflection nebula, which means it’s a cloud of gas and dust that does not create its own light, but instead shines by reflecting the light from stars close to or within the nebula. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a phenomenon for the very first time. The…

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AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of Creation Star in NASA’s New 3D Visualization

Learn Home AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of… For Educators Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science   4 min read AstroViz: Iconic Pillars of Creation Star in NASA’s New 3D Visualization NASA’s Universe of Learning – a partnership among the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Caltech/IPAC, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and part of the NASA Science Activation program portfolio – recently released a new 3D visualization of the towering clouds of cosmic…

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NASA’s Webb Images Cold Exoplanet 12 Light-Years Away

6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Images Cold Exoplanet 12 Light-Years Away This image of the gas-giant exoplanet Epsilon Indi Ab was taken with the coronagraph on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). A star symbol marks the location of the host star Epsilon Indi A, whose light has been blocked by the coronagraph, resulting in the dark circle marked with a dashed white line (full image below) An international team of astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has directly imaged an exoplanet roughly 12 light-years from Earth.…

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NASA’s Webb Investigates Eternal Sunrises, Sunsets on Distant World

6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Investigates Eternal Sunrises, Sunsets on Distant World Artists concept of WASP-39 b (full image below). Near-infrared spectral analysis of terminator confirms differences in morning and evening atmosphere Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have finally confirmed what models have previously predicted: An exoplanet has differences between its eternal morning and eternal evening atmosphere. WASP-39 b, a giant planet with a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter, but similar mass to Saturn that orbits a star about 700 light-years away from Earth, is tidally locked…

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Two Years Since Webb’s First Images: Celebrating with the Penguin and the Egg

The distorted spiral galaxy at center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical at left, the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. This near- and mid-infrared image combines data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), and marks the telescope’s second year of science. Webb’s view shows that their interaction is marked by a glow of scattered stars represented in blue. Known jointly as Arp 142, the galaxies made their first pass by one another between 25 and 75 million years ago, causing “fireworks,”…

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Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies Marks Webb’s Second Anniversary

6 Min Read Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies Marks Webb’s Second Anniversary Webb’s view of the interacting galaxies of Arp 142 that combines Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI instrument images. Full image below. Two for two! A duo of interacting galaxies commemorates the second science anniversary of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which takes constant observations, including images and highly detailed data known as spectra. Its operations have led to a “parade” of discoveries by astronomers around the world. “Since President Biden and Vice President Harris unveiled the first image from…

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Pillars of Creation Star in New Visualization from NASA’s Hubble and Webb Telescopes

6 Min Read Pillars of Creation Star in New Visualization from NASA’s Hubble and Webb Telescopes A mosaic of visible-light (Hubble) and infrared-light (Webb) views from the same Pillars of Creation visualization frame.  Credits: Greg Bacon, Ralf Crawford, Joseph DePasquale, Leah Hustak, Christian Nieves, Joseph Olmsted, Alyssa Pagan, and Frank Summers (STScI), NASA’s Universe of Learning Made famous in 1995 by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, ethereal beauty. Now, NASA has released a…

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Investigating the Origins of the Crab Nebula With NASA’s Webb

6 Min Read Investigating the Origins of the Crab Nebula With NASA’s Webb This image by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) shows different structural details of the Crab Nebula. New data revises our view of this unusual supernova explosion. A team of scientists used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to parse the composition of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. With the telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), the team gathered data that…

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NASA’s Webb Hints at Possible Atmosphere Surrounding Rocky Exoplanet

7 min read NASA’s Webb Hints at Possible Atmosphere Surrounding Rocky Exoplanet This artist’s concept shows what the exoplanet 55 Cancri e could look like. Observations by NASA’s Webb telescope suggest it may be surrounded by an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, which could have bubbled up from of an ocean of magma on the planet’s surface. While the planet is too hot to be habitable, detecting its atmosphere could provide insights into the early conditions of Earth, Venus, and Mars. Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space…

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