James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope is NASA's largest and most powerful space observatory. The $10 billion space telescope will be the successor to the iconic Hubble Space Telescope. Webb will study several areas of astronomy and cosmology, gazing deep into the cosmos to study how the universe formed. Read the latest news about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope here.

Related Topics: The Big Bang Theory, Black Holes, Stars and Galaxies, Hubble Space Telescope

Latest Updates

a blurry image of a blue and white moon in space

James Webb Space Telescope detects 1st evidence of carbon on Jupiter's icy moon Europa

By Robert Lea published

The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a source of carbon, a vital ingredient for life, on Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

James Vaughan's rendering of the James Webb Space Telescope focuses on the observatory's giant mirror.

James Webb Space Telescope could detect life on Earth from across the galaxy, new study suggests

By Harry Baker published

Researchers have shown that if the James Webb Space Telescope was pointed at Earth from a distant star, it could detect the signatures of intelligent life in our planet's atmosphere.

Against the dark backdrop of space, a vibrant, colorful view of jets making a diagonal line from the top right corner of the image to the bottom left.

Stunning James Webb Space Telescope image shows young star blasting supersonic jets

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured stunning jets blasting out of a protostar, shedding light on the makeup of very young, sun-like stars.

four colorful insets of different bands of color on top of a ringed planet

James Webb Space Telescope watches seasons change on Saturn (video)

By Robert Lea published

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have observed the changing of seasons on Saturn. The ringed planet's northern summer is cooling as a 7.5-year-long autumn approaches.

Permanently shadowed craters around the moon's poles.

A big telescope on the moon could peer deeper into the universe than James Webb

By Tereza Pultarova published

A big telescope on the moon could peer deeper into the universe than the famed James Webb Telescope and perhaps even help find life on exoplanets, scientists say.

A large galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The galaxy has a bright white core, and several large spiral arms extending out from that core, rotating clockwise. The arms are light blue with many pink speckles and clumps littering the arms. The background is also filled with a smattering of white and pink dots.

James Webb Space Telescope deepens major debate over universe's expansion rate

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Scientists still can't nail down the rate at which our universe is expanding. New JWST observations didn't make things any easier.

Illustration of a planet and its cool red dwarf star. In the foreground on the right is the planet, which fills most of the frame. The planet is various shades of blue, with wisps of white scattered throughout. The left edge of the planet (the side facing the star) is lit, while the rest is in shadow. In the background at the lower left is the star, which appears smaller. The star has a bright red glow. Also in the background is another planet, which appears as a small crescent. The black background of space is speckled with a few small stars.

Exoplanet's surface may be covered in oceans, James Webb Space Telescope finds

By Robert Lea published

The so-called Hycean planet K2–18 b is around twice the size of Earth and orbits in the habitable zone of a star located 120 light-years from our solar system.

A sort of hazy, blurred ring of light is seen against the backdrop of space. In the center of the ring is a blueish glow.

James Webb Space Telescope snaps stunning view of supernova's expanding remains (photos)

By Keith Cooper published

The exploded guts of a supergiant star are giving up new secrets in a case of stellar CSI.

vibrant orange spiral galaxy with bright shining central star

James Webb Space Telescope gazes into the Whirlpool galaxy's hypnotic spiral arms (photos)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

A James Webb Space Telescope image of M51 boasts amber hues and reddish streaks, capturing the galaxy's gravitational relationship with a neighboring realm.

An illustration shows the Juno spacecraft flying past Io as Jupiter lurks in the background.

James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble will help NASA's Juno probe study Jupiter's volcanic moon Io

By Robert Lea published

The iconic telescopes will make observations of the solar system's most volcanic body, Io. Data collected will help guide NASA's Juno mission when it revisits Jupiter and and the fiery moon.

This animation of the James Webb Space Telescope shows how light is reflected from its mirrors onto its scientific instruments.

James Webb Space Telescope instrument experiences glitch — but observatory remains in 'good health'

By Monisha Ravisetti published

The JWST team announced that a mode of one of the observatory's infrared sensors indicated a reduction in the amount of light registered by the instrument.

An illustration of a supermassive black hole.

James Webb Space Telescope reveals active supermassive black holes were surprisingly rare in early universe

By Robert Lea published

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers discovered that, between 7 and 10 billion years ago, there were fewer feeding supermassive black holes than previously thought

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in its deployed form as seen in an artist's illustration.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission — Live updates

By Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic published

Read the latest news about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

A side-by-side view of the Ring Nebula, imaged by the JWST.

James Webb Space Telescope offers a mesmerizing look at the Ring Nebula (photos)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

The James Webb Space Telescope strikes again, this time with a beautiful new view of a famous planetary nebula. But don't be fooled  — none of this has anything to do with planets.

It might not look like much but this glowing orange blob is one of the most important galaxies in recent astronomical history

James Webb Space Telescope confirms 'Maisie's galaxy' is one of the earliest ever seen

By Robert Lea published

The universe's age when Maisie's galaxy was seen by the James Webb Space Telescope has been confirmed, proving that this realm is one of the earliest galaxies ever observed.

A view of dozens of distant galaxies in deep space, with a zoomed-in view of one.

Earendel revealed: James Webb Space Telescope lifts veil on the most distant star known in the universe

By Mike Wall published

Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have begun getting the goods on Earendel, the most distant star ever detected.

a pink and green cloud of gas in space

James Webb Space Telescope reveals the colorful Ring Nebula in exquisite detail (photos, video)

By Robert Lea published

The James Webb Space Telescope has imaged the Ring Nebula in vibrant color, presenting one of the most well-known objects in astronomy as it has never been seen before.

Various warped galaxies are seen as elongated lines, loops, arcs and smudges against the background of space. The JWST's iconic diffraction spikes are seen toward the center-right of the image.

James Webb Space Telescope unveils the gravitationally warped galaxies of 'El Gordo'

By Monisha Ravisetti published

The enormous galaxy cluster, El Gordo, has been imaged by Hubble in the past — now, the JWST has offered us a fresh new view.

A dense field of stars and dust in NGC 6822 seen by the James Webb Space Telescope.

James Webb Space Telescope captures vibrant details of the Milky Way's galactic neighbor (photo)

By Robert Lea published

A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the Milky Way's neighbor, NGC 6822, glowing green and gold while punctuated by bright red and blue stars, revealing its lack of metal.

a galaxy shaped like a question mark against a dense field of stars and galaxies

James Webb Space Telescope spies giant cosmic question mark in deep space (photo)

By Brett Tingley published

The James Webb Space Telescope spied a cosmic question mark in deep space while observing two young stars located more than 1,000 light-years from Earth.