James Webb

The James Webb Space Telescope, launched on Christmas Day 2021, sees in infrared from about a million miles out. The Pillars of Creation, the Crab Nebula, the Helix Nebula, and the gold mirror folded to fit a rocket.

17 photographs · 2011 to 2026 · Mission 12 of 14
17 photographs
Jupiter with its faint rings and two small moons, James Webb Space Telescope, 22 August 2022
James Webb Space Telescope · 22 August 2022JUPITER-AURORAS2

Jupiter's Faint Rings

The rings are a million times fainter than the planet. Webb caught both in the same frame.
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A dying star's cast off shell, orange inside, galaxies behind, James Webb, 25 February 2026New
James Webb · 25 February 2026weic2605c

The Exposed Cranium Nebula

A dying star shedding its layers. The dark seam down the middle may be where material is being thrown out of the top and bottom.
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An engineer taping cables beneath the Webb optical simulator at Goddard, James Webb Space Telescope, 10 May 2012New
James Webb Space Telescope · 10 May 2012

Webb's Understudy

The tall rig overhead is not the telescope. It was built to give the instruments the same kind of light Webb would.
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The Cartwheel Galaxy and two companions in Sculptor, James Webb Space Telescope, 2 August 2022
James Webb Space Telescope · 2 August 2022WEIC2211A

The Cartwheel Galaxy

Its shape is the aftermath of a high speed collision with a smaller galaxy that is not in the picture.
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Five galaxies of Stephan's Quintet in Pegasus, James Webb Space Telescope, 12 July 2022
James Webb Space Telescope · 12 July 2022WEIC2208A

Stephan's Quintet

The galaxy on the left does not belong with the others. It is about 40 million light years away, the other four about 290 million.
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The planetary nebula NGC 3132 in near infrared, James Webb Space Telescope, 12 July 2022
James Webb Space Telescope · 12 July 2022WEIC2207B

The Southern Ring Nebula

Two stars sit in a tight orbit at the centre. The fainter one has been throwing off these shells for thousands of years.
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The edge of the star forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula, James Webb Space Telescope, 12 July 2022
James Webb Space Telescope · 12 July 2022WEIC2205A

The Cosmic Cliffs

The tallest peaks along this edge are about seven light years high.
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Jupiter in infrared with auroras at both poles, James Webb Space Telescope, 22 August 2022
James Webb Space Telescope · 22 August 2022JUPITER-AURORAS1

Webb's Jupiter

The Great Red Spot comes out white here. It reflects so much sunlight that it shines like the brightest clouds.
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Merging galaxy clusters bending light into arcs, James Webb Space Telescope, 3 July 2026New
James Webb Space Telescope · 3 July 2026POTM2606A

One Galaxy, Three Times

The bright arc on the left is a single galaxy behind the cluster, bent by gravity into three separate images of itself.
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The Crab Nebula in infrared, James Webb Space Telescope, 17 June 2024New
James Webb Space Telescope · 17 June 2024WEIC2417A

Visible in Daylight

In the year 1054 Chinese astronomers wrote down a new star bright enough to see by day. This is what is left of it.
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Galaxies in the Ultra Deep Field, seen in infrared by Webb, James Webb Space Telescope, 1 August 2025New
James Webb Space Telescope · 1 August 2025POTM2507A

Light Older Than Earth

Webb went back to the Hubble Ultra Deep Field in infrared. Almost nothing in this frame is a star.
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Star cluster Pismis 24 in the Lobster Nebula, James Webb Space Telescope, 4 September 2025New
James Webb Space Telescope · 4 September 2025WEIC2518A

Two Stars, Not One

The brightest point in the cluster was read for years as a single star. It is at least two, of about 74 and 66 solar masses.
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Cometary knots in the Helix Nebula, James Webb, 20 January 2026New
James Webb · 20 January 2026WEIC2601A

Every Tail Points Away

The tails all lean off in the same direction, away from the dead star at the centre. It sits just outside the frame.
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The Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, James Webb Space Telescope, 19 October 2022New
James Webb Space Telescope · 19 October 2022WEIC2216B

Stars Inside the Pillars

In infrared the dust thins out, and the newborn stars eating the columns show as red marks along their edges.
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Six mirror segments in a cryogenic test chamber, James Webb Space Telescope, 2011New
James Webb Space Telescope · 2011GSFC_20171208_ARCHIVE_E001899

Six of Eighteen Mirrors

The primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope has eighteen segments. These six were being chilled toward the cold of deep space.
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Telescope primary mirror with all eighteen segments open, James Webb Space Telescope, 28 October 2016New
James Webb Space Telescope · 28 October 2016GSFC_20171208_ARCHIVE_E000162

It Had to Fold

Six and a half metres of mirror, folded to fit a rocket and opened again a million miles out.
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Thousands of galaxies around the cluster SMACS 0723, James Webb Space Telescope, 11 July 2022
James Webb Space Telescope · 11 July 2022WEIC2209A

Webb's First Deep Field

A patch of sky about the size of a grain of sand held at arm's length, and nearly every point of light in it is a galaxy.
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The James Webb Space Telescope, launched on Christmas Day 2021, sees in infrared from about a million miles out. The Pillars of Creation, the Crab Nebula, the Helix Nebula, and the gold mirror folded to fit a rocket.

17 photographs · 2011 to 2026 · Mission 12 of 14
About James Webb

Webb launched on 25 December 2021 and released its first full colour images on 12 July 2022. It works in infrared, which passes through the dust that hides young stars from telescopes working in visible light. This collection holds the Pillars of Creation as Webb saw them in 2022, the Crab Nebula, left by a star Chinese astronomers recorded in 1054, and the Helix Nebula, released in January 2026. It also shows the 6.5 metre mirror, eighteen segments that had to fold to fit inside the rocket.