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

An image of comet C/2017 K2 PANSTARRS (K2) taken in June 2017 by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3.

Space photos: The most amazing images this week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

See the best photos on Space.com this week.

A comparison of views of the same part of the sky as seen by NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope and the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA will unveil the James Webb Space Telescope's 1st science photos in July. Here's how to watch.

By Elizabeth Howell published

After half a year of commissioning in space, the James Webb Space Telescope will release its first science images in July. Here's how you can tune in to the historic event for free.

An image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope during its alignment process shows a star in the center of the image.

The James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready to do science — and it's seeing the universe more clearly than even its own engineers hoped for

By Marcia Rieke published

The James Webb Space Telescope is ready to start probing the cosmos. An astronomer on the team explains what it takes to get to this stage.

The James Webb Space Telescope is completing commissioning in deep space.

James Webb Space Telescope is about halfway through its instrument checks

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA says the $10 billion observatory checked out 7 of its 17 instrument modes for science operations.

An artist's depiction of a supermassive black hole in the early universe.

James Webb Space Telescope will study how the 1st black hole 'seeds' formed in the 'baby universe'

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is gearing up to start operations this summer, and one of its many assignments will be to search for primeval black holes in the early universe.

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 Space.com Staff published

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

An artist's depiction of the James Webb Space Telescope at work.

James Webb Space Telescope hit by micrometeoroid just months into flight

By Meghan Bartels published

NASA's next-generation space observatory has sustained its first noticeable micrometeoroid impact less than six months after launch, but the agency isn't too concerned.

A selection of galaxies, going back 10 billion years, from the 3D-DASH mosaic.

Hubble Space Telescope's largest-ever infrared image peers back 10 billion years

By Keith Cooper published

The largest near-infrared image of galaxies ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed potential targets for the James Webb Space Telescope.

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

James Webb Space Telescope coverage wins Pulitzer Prize for science writer Natalie Wolchover and Quanta

By Elizabeth Howell published

Science writer Natalie Wolchover has received a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for her work at Quanta Magazine explaining the intricate story of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

The James Webb Space Telescope is completing commissioning in deep space.

James Webb Space Telescope will release its 1st science-quality images July 12

By Elizabeth Howell published

We now have a date for our first real images from NASA's next-generation observatory.

Orange lava covered world.

James Webb Space Telescope will study two strange 'super-Earths'

By Elizabeth Howell published

Officials promise geology 'from 50 light-years away,' as they train the James Webb Space Telescope's high-precision spectrographs on two exoplanets.

The James Webb Space Telescope will observe targets near and far after its commissioning period.

James Webb Space Telescope practices tracking an asteroid for the 1st time

By Elizabeth Howell published

The James Webb Space Telescope successfully watched a moving asteroid as the telescope inches toward the end of its commissioning period.

A comparison of views of the same part of the sky as seen by NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope and the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is almost ready for science. Here's what's next.

By Elizabeth Howell published

The days are ticking away before NASA's massive new observatory shows us the cosmos as we've never seen it before.

A comparison of views of the same part of the sky as seen by NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope and the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope.

James Webb Space Telescope enters 'homestretch' of commissioning with stunning image

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Large Magellanic Cloud is sharper than ever in the infrared eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope.

An artist's depiction of the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA promises James Webb Space Telescope commissioning update today

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's massive new observatory is inching ever closer to science work.

The James Webb Space Telescope is protected from the sun's and Earth's heat by a giant kite-shaped shield.

James Webb Space Telescope begins final check-outs before science observations

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's next-generation observatory is entering the last stages of preparation before showing scientists an all-new view of the universe.

The U.S. Postal Service's James Webb Space Telescope stamp celebrates "the largest and most complex telescope ever deployed in space."

USPS to deploy new postage stamp for James Webb Space Telescope

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

Having been successfully deployed into a stable orbit between Earth and the Sun, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is now ready to enter a route closer to home: the United States' mail system.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope can now capture sharp images of celestial objects with multiple instruments, the agency announced April 28, 2022.

James Webb Space Telescope faces crucial test of thermal stability

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's new deep-space observatory will soon move between hot and cold in a crucial test of its infrared viewing capabilities.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), will orbit the sun 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: The ultimate guide

By Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference Everything you need to know about the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's Big Bang-probing space observatory.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope can now capture sharp images of celestial objects with multiple instruments, the agency announced April 28, 2022.

Sharp pictures! James Webb Space Telescope completes alignment in huge milestone

By Elizabeth Howell published

All four of Webb's instruments now capture "crisp, well-focused images" of celestial objects, NASA says.