And to round out four years of history-making science, we're celebrating 2026 and what we've learned so far. From far away and very old "Little Red Dots" to new views of Saturn's sunlit surface, 2026 is shaping up to be another incredible year of science!
In 2025, we looked back in time! Abell S1063 was Webb's deepest look back on a single target as of 2025. Webb discovered a new moon around Uranus and examined the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e spectrum, a system with many rocket planets, including some in its habitabl... 🔗 x.com/NASAWebb/status/20767...
New views of familiar sights in 2024. Webb showed us a new map of Jupiter's Great Red Spot using the telescope's Integral Field Unit on the NIRSpec instrument. Webb also teamed up with Chandra X-Ray Observatory to show us a new view of the Crab Nebula, which was ... 🔗 x.com/NASAWebb/status/20767...
2023 brought us new views of Uranus, Star Cluster IC 348, Sagittarius C, Galaxy Cluster SDSS J1226+2152, and Supernova remnant Cas A. The spectrum of LHS 475b shows the first use of Webb to confirm an exoplanet!
In 2022, Webb peered into the Cartwheel Galaxy, Tarantula Nebula, and galaxy cluster MACS0647. We saw the first clear evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet (WASP-39) and looked at Wolf-Rayet 140, where we saw not one, but two stars.
Starting with our first images, released on July 12, 2022, Webb wowed the world with its never-before-seen views of the "Cosmic Cliffs" of the Carina Nebula, Southern Ring Nebula, WASP 96-b spectrum, Stephan's Quintet, and Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723.
And to round out four years of history-making science, we're celebrating 2026 and what we've learned so far. From far away and very old "Little Red Dots" to new views of Saturn's sunlit surface, 2026 is shaping up to be another incredible year of science!
In 2025, we looked back in time! Abell S1063 was Webb's deepest look back on a single target as of 2025. Webb discovered a new moon around Uranus and examined the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e spectrum, a system with many rocket planets, including some in its habitabl... 🔗 x.com/NASAWebb/status/20767...
New views of familiar sights in 2024. Webb showed us a new map of Jupiter's Great Red Spot using the telescope's Integral Field Unit on the NIRSpec instrument. Webb also teamed up with Chandra X-Ray Observatory to show us a new view of the Crab Nebula, which was ... 🔗 x.com/NASAWebb/status/20767...
2023 brought us new views of Uranus, Star Cluster IC 348, Sagittarius C, Galaxy Cluster SDSS J1226+2152, and Supernova remnant Cas A. The spectrum of LHS 475b shows the first use of Webb to confirm an exoplanet!
In 2022, Webb peered into the Cartwheel Galaxy, Tarantula Nebula, and galaxy cluster MACS0647. We saw the first clear evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet (WASP-39) and looked at Wolf-Rayet 140, where we saw not one, but two stars.
Starting with our first images, released on July 12, 2021, Webb wowed the world with its never-before-seen views of the "Cosmic Cliffs" of the Carina Nebula, Southern Ring Nebula, WASP 96-b spectrum, Stephan's Quintet, and Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723.
Galaxy cluster formation is a messy process! Webb captured the formation of this young galaxy cluster in progress. Its two-sub-clusters have slammed through each other and travelled over a million light-years apart, repeating this process until they finally merge.
July 12th is Webb’s 4th science anniversary! When we dive deeper into the familiar galaxy Centaurus A, our view becomes richer and stranger— a vivid record of cosmic history. t.co/lUTv8fE451 🔗 go.nasa.gov/4wvZJYr
Though dust obscures background stars and galaxies, in @NASAHubble’s image of FS Tau (right) we can see protostar FS Tau b, its dusty protoplanetary disk, and its jet of matter (colored cyan). Compare to the Webb image on the left!
Gonna shine across that sky 🎶 In the infrared, Webb reveals bright protostars flowering from within the thick dust of the FS Tau star system. Set against a tapestry of background galaxies, this star-forming nebula is home to baby stars. t.co/5iBJPkLfCi 🔗 science.nasa.gov/missions/w...
You’re a spark in the dark 🎶 Webb looked at gas giant planet WD 1856 b, which closely orbits a white dwarf - the remains of a Sun-like star. Did it survive the death of its star or did it migrate to its current location later? t.co/zxmzpMe0r5 🔗 science.nasa.gov/missions/w...
@NASAHubble Because Webb can see infrared light, it is able to peer through clouds of dust and gas to see the shape of this edge-on galaxy, as well as approximately 16.5 million of its stars.
Webb’s new view of M82, added to archival data from @NASAHubble, is giving us a more complete picture of this starburst galaxy. t.co/hbHTnt7Ujv 🔗 science.nasa.gov/missions/w...
You might have heard of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. We don't get the opportunity to study objects like this often. Webb took a look at the comet's composition. It's showing us how unusual our own solar system might be. Here's what we've learned 👇
One well-done gas giant planet, coming right up! Webb examined a “hot Jupiter” exoplanet called HD 80606 b, with four times Jupiter’s mass, and a very elliptical orbit that sweeps close by its Sun-like star. t.co/X3s69WG4qQ 🔗 go.nasa.gov/3QtN6xr
Webb teamed up with @NASAHubble to examine a relic from our galaxy’s formation. This object might look like a globular cluster of stars, but is actually something much odder and rarer - a “bulge fossil fragment.” t.co/5isHyQ92aV 🔗 science.nasa.gov/missions/w...
Go far and wide with @NASARoman! NASA’s next space telescope will be joining Webb in L2, a million miles away to join us and your name can come too! Get your boarding pass to send your name with Roman as we work to create the most complete picture of the univer... 🔗 my.nasa.gov/specialevents/s...
Webb captured the most detailed data to date of one of these LRDs (named GLIMPSE-17775, dating back to 1.8 billion years after the big bang) that supports the interpretation that this object is a rapidly growing black hole enveloped in a dense gas cocoon.
Webb has delivered the strongest evidence yet that its discovery of mysterious Little Red Dots (LRD) are “black hole stars.” They appear starting ~600 million years after the big bang, and scientists are still working out exactly what they are. t.co/MIEwfifyzi 🔗 science.nasa.gov/missions/w...
Beyond the Orion Nebula is a long and massive filament of cold gas and dust divided into four parts and collectively called the Orion Molecular Clouds. This image shows just a small portion of one of the clouds. t.co/N5ahKPVSJO 🔗 esawebb.org/images/potm2605a/
Webb is looking at the chemical fingerprints of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in the mid-infrared 🔎 New data points to a very different formation environment and chemistry for this object compared to most comets that formed in our own solar system. t.co/6xJl3L6W9K 🔗 science.nasa.gov/blogs/3iat...
Which came first, galaxies or black holes? New Webb observations show that some supermassive black holes were enormous from their beginnings, shifting traditional ideas around how black holes form and grow. t.co/YNSs2QIFbu 🔗 go.nasa.gov/4vaEASC
To MoM-z14 & back! 💐 Let a caregiver in your life know your appreciation for them reaches the farthest galaxy ever detected! Read more about MoM-z14: t.co/ejbBjLSlQr 🔗 go.nasa.gov/4d1kt3l
This image is a composite of both mid and near infrared. The bright orange lines radiating out of the center are diffraction spikes. They aren't a physical feature of the galaxy, but an optical effect caused by the structure of the telescope.