ESAWebb Announcements

Announcement of the 2026 ESA Hubble and Webb Calendar

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0100

To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar for 2026 that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions.

The 2026 calendar features a selection of images from Press Releases (from Hubble and Webb), Hubble Pictures of the Week and Webb Pictures of the Month published throughout 2025. These include imagery of planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more. It can now be accessed electronically for anyone to print, share and enjoy (please see the links provided below).

The images featured in the calendar are as follows:

Cover: IRAS 04302+2247 is a planet-forming disc located about 525 light-years away in a dark cloud within the Taurus star-forming region. This beautiful Webb image shows an example of a protostar (a young star that is still gathering mass from its environment) surrounded by a protoplanetary disc in which baby planets might be forming.

January:.As part of Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, ESA/Hubble published a new image of the star cluster NGC 346, featuring new data and processing techniques. This prolific star factory is in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the largest of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies.

February: This image from Webb features a mega-monster galaxy cluster known as Abell S1063, lying 4.5 billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Grus. The dense collection of heavy galaxies is surrounded by glowing streaks of light, and these warped arcs demonstrate gravitational lensing.

March: To celebrate Webb’s third year of highly productive science in July 2025, astronomers used the telescope to scratch beyond the surface of the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), a massive, local star-forming region.

April: ESA/Hubble revisited the star cluster Messier 72 in April 2025 to celebrate Hubble’s 35th anniversary with new data and image processing techniques. This is a particularly special target because it was the first image ever published in the ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week series in April of 2010.

May: In these Webb images taken in December 2023, our Solar System’s largest planet shows off new details in its auroras (shown in the left image), which are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth.

June: Called Pismis 24, this young star cluster resides in the core of the nearby Lobster Nebula, approximately 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. Home to a vibrant stellar nursery and one of the closest sites of massive star birth, Webb provides us with rare insights into large and massive stars.

July: Located around 30 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, this Hubble image features the Sombrero Galaxy. Viewed nearly edge on, the galaxy’s softly luminous bulge and sharply outlined disc resemble the rounded crown and broad brim of the Mexican hat from which the galaxy gets its name.

August: This image set showcases three views of the Butterfly Nebula, also called NGC 6302. The first and second of the three images shown feature the nebula in optical and near-infrared light captured by Hubble. The Webb image on the right zooms in on the object’s centre.

September: This image was shared by ESA/Hubble as part of Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations and incorporates new data processing techniques. It shows a small portion of the Eagle Nebula that is 9.5 light-years long and 7,000 light-years away from Earth. This vast stellar nursery displays a towering spire of cosmic gas and dust.

October: Hubble captures in exquisite detail a face-on view of the remarkable-looking galaxy NGC 5335 in this image. This is a flocculent spiral galaxy with patchy streamers of star formation across its disc. A notable bar structure slices across the center of the galaxy.

November: This image shows Webb’s view of the planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near-infrared. It highlights a complex scene of multiple outflows expanding out at different angles from a dying star at the centre of the scene. These outflows push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc.

December:A beautiful but skewed spiral galaxy dazzles in this Hubble image. This galaxy, called Arp 184 or NGC 1961, sits about 190 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis (The Giraffe).

Back Page: This Hubble image captures incredible details in the dusty clouds in the outskirts of a star-forming region called the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is located about 160 000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. The Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest of the dozens of small satellite galaxies that orbit the Milky Way.

Please note that hard copies are not available directly from ESA/Hubble/Webb. We invite you to avail yourself of the free calendar formats below.

Announcement of the 2025 ESA Hubble and Webb Calendar

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0100

To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar for 2025 that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions.

The 2025 calendar features a selection of images from Press Releases (from Hubble and Webb), Hubble Pictures of the Week and Webb Pictures of the Month published throughout 2024. These include imagery of planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more. It can now be accessed electronically for anyone to print, share and enjoy (please see the links provided below).

The images featured in the calendar are as follows:

Cover: Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud lies the young star cluster NGC 602 where star formation is ongoing. This image highlights the cluster stars, the young stellar objects, and the surrounding gas and dust ridges, while also showing background galaxies and other stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

January: The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by Hubble in this image taken on 6 January 2024. A pair of battling storms are visible right of centre, a deep red cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. To the left of the planet its volcanic moon Io appears.

February: This sharpest-ever infrared view of the famous Horsehead Nebula from Webb shows the depth and complexity of the thick clumps of material like never before. Also featured are Hubble’s 23rd anniversary image, and one of the first images from ESA’s Euclid telescope.

March: The two bright ‘eyes’ and semi-circular ‘smile’ in the Webb image of this spiral galaxy are the result of an off-centre collision by the elliptical galaxy now seen here to its left. A tenuous gas bridge runs between the galaxies, together known as Arp 107.

April: M76, the colourful Little Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula created by a collapsing red giant star. Hot, vibrant gases are propelled outwards by the now white-dwarf’s stellar winds; the red colour is from nitrogen, and blue is from oxygen. Hubble turned to this favourite target of amateur astronomers for its 34th anniversary in April 2024.

May: This is NGC 5253, a starburst galaxy filled with extraordinary star clusters and continually forming stars. Hubble’s image reveals super star clusters lurking in its core amongst dark dust clouds. As a dwarf galaxy, it resembles ancient galaxies and is a laboratory to study star and galaxy evolution.

June: Among the many massive galaxies of the lensing galaxy cluster shown here, SPT-CL J0615−5746, lies the Cosmic Gems arc. An infant galaxy from just 460 million years after the Big Bang, it is visible thanks to strong gravitational lensing by the cluster. Astronomers are using Webb to map its inner workings.

July: R Aquarii is a binary star system surrounded by a large, dynamic nebula. Outbursts eject powerful jets, forming loops and trails as plasma emerges in streamers. They are energised by blistering radiation from the stellar duo to glow in visible light.

August: A stunning mosaic of images from Webb showcases the nearby star-forming cluster, NGC 1333, in the Perseus molecular cloud. Large patches of orange represent gas glowing in the infrared as ionised material ejected from young stars collides with the surrounding cloud. They are hallmarks of a very active site of star formation.

September: Omega Centauri is the brightest, largest, and most massive Milky Way globular cluster known. This image shows the depth and extent of its population of stars. In 2024 astronomers found new evidence in Hubble data that it hides an intermediate-mass black hole at its centre.

October: The Serpens Nebula is home to a particularly dense cluster of newly forming stars. This Webb image shows the nebula’s centre. Filaments and wisps of different hues represent reflected starlight from still-forming protostars within the cloud; dust in front of that reflection appears in an orange, diffuse shade.

November: Hubble continued its long run of capturing beautiful celestial objects in fine colour and detail in 2024, and this year as ever, many were spiral galaxies. Seen here are NGC 4951, NGC 3810, NGC 3783 and Messier 90, gems from a treasure trove of new Hubble observations.

December: Westerlund 1 is one of our galaxy’s few remaining super star clusters. Its large, dense, and diverse population of massive stars is unrivalled in the Milky Way galaxy. Webb can pierce the dense dust surrounding it and study its population of lower-mass stars.

Please note that hard copies are not available directly from ESA/Hubble/Webb. We invite you to avail yourself of the free calendar formats below.

Call for ESA/Hubble & ESA/Webb Science Writer

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0200

The ESA/Hubble & ESA/Webb Outreach team is looking for a motivated individual to join the team as a proficient science writer to support a variety of roles and activities pertaining to the work of bringing the images and science from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to the public. This is a unique opportunity to develop skills and experience in science communication for high-reach and high-impact products that are disseminated worldwide as part of two well-known and beloved science missions.

Position Overview

The ESA/Hubble & ESA/Webb outreach team is composed of science communicators, scientists, science writers, visual artists, image processing specialists and more, who work together to showcase the research of the European Hubble & Webb users and institutions to the wider astronomical community and general public. This team is looking to add a dynamic, organized, and motivated individual to work alongside the team’s Chief Communications Officer to support a variety of tasks.

This science writing role will begin with a 3 month trial period, followed by a 12-month renewable freelance work agreement with the ESA Office at the Space Telescope Science Institute (Baltimore, USA) for 2025. The position will require roughly 20 hours per month. All work will be performed remotely and the individual will be working closely with the ESA/Hubble & ESA/Webb Chief Communications Officer and Science Information Officer.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Writing of various texts, including the ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week and ESA/Webb Picture of the Month, support for science and photo release texts, video scripts (including the Space Sparks series), the ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb word banks, and announcements.
Thorough research and fact checking for all science texts.
Additional support as requested by the ESA/Hubble & Webb Chief Communications Officer as it pertains to tasks for ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb.
Attendance at team meetings

Remuneration and Benefits

Roughly 20 of work per month at €35/hour, as per a freelance agreement with the ESA Office at the Space Telescope Science Institute (Baltimore, USA)
Opportunity to work on high visibility and high impact products that are disseminated worldwide and part of two well-recognized and beloved space science missions
Develop experience in different areas of science communication and outreach
Opportunity to network with the members of the ESA/Hubble/Webb science outreach team and to engage with other members in the Hubble and Webb community.
Mentorship
Possible opportunities for greater responsibilities and roles in the future with the ESA/Hubble & ESA/Webb outreach team

Applicant Profile

We are welcoming applications from individuals who fit the following profile:

Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy or a related field (Master’s degree preferred)
Excellent writing skills, including proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Strong English skills. Native English speaker is preferred but not required.
Interest in developing experience in science outreach and communications. Previous experience in this field strongly preferred.
Interest in gaining coordination experience.
Strong multitasking and organizational skills, as ESA/Hubble/Webb science outreach work involves the coordination of many different tasks.
Prepared with own equipment (computer, internet access, etc.) for remote work.
Responsive to accommodate for new and dynamic tasks.

Application Instructions

Please submit all of the following as a single PDF file to info@esahubble.org by 31 August at 11:59PM Central European time:

CV (2 pages maximum) - required
Please include previous relevant work experience and associated responsibilities, education, personal skills, languages, as well as current residence status
Cover letter (1 page maximum) - required
Please describe your interest and suitability for the role as well as your professional aspirations
Writing samples - required
The applicant should provide up to 3 relevant writing samples that demonstrate interest and proficiency in science writing (preferably in astronomy)

Additional Notes

Applications are welcome from all countries.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

ESA/Hubble/Webb embraces the diversity of our team. We are deeply committed to encouraging people of all backgrounds to apply for this opportunity. We therefore strongly encourage women, ethnic minorities, and disabled individuals to apply for this opportunity. Our experience has demonstrated that the broader the styles, backgrounds, and abilities of our staff—in other words, the more diverse our team is—the greater potential we have for success. ESA/Hubble does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, lawful political affiliations, veteran status, or mental or physical handicap.

Those needing assistance with the application can contact us at info@esahubble.org.

Royal Astronomical Society Group Achievement Award for JWST-MIRI Team

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 17:00:00 +0100

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has announced that their 2024 Group Achievement Award in Astronomy has been awarded to the team responsible for the design and build of Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI).

MIRI was developed by a large international consortium, comprising many institutes in ten European countries and the United States, in partnership with ESA and NASA, and led by Professor Gillian Wright of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre and Professor George Rieke of the University of Arizona.

Taking advantage of Webb’s large and cold aperture, MIRI provides Webb’s unique view of the Universe at mid-infrared wavelengths. The instrument is very versatile, providing imaging, spectroscopy and coronography, with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution, between 5 and 28 microns. The instrument is the product of more than two decades of development, which involved innovative technologies, and many engineering and managerial challenges.

Following the launch of Webb in December 2021, the performance of MIRI has been spectacular, producing ground-breaking scientific results across studies of the solar system, extrasolar planets, star formation in our own and nearby galaxies, and the properties of the most distant galaxies. These scientific achievements testify to the ambition, dedication and professionalism of Professors Wright and Rieke and of the entire MIRI Team, for which the RAS has awarded the 2024 Group Achievement Award.

Announcement of the 2024 ESA Hubble and Webb Calendar

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 10:00:00 +0100

To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and the completion of the first year of science operations with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar for 2024 that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions.

The 2024 calendar features a selection of images from Press Releases (from Hubble and Webb), Hubble Pictures of the Week and Webb Pictures of the Month published throughout 2023. These include imagery of planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more. It can now be accessed electronically for anyone to print, share and enjoy (please see the links provided below).

The images featured in the calendar are as follows:

Cover: The subject of the first anniversary image from the James Webb Space Telescope is the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth. Jets bursting from young stars crisscross the image, impacting the surrounding interstellar gas and lighting up molecular hydrogen.

January: Formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, the Ring Nebula is an archetypal planetary nebula. The near-infrared image makes the ring’s intricate detail visible, while the mid-infrared image reveals concentric features in the outer regions of the nebula’s ring.

February: In 2023 several images from Hubble of ‘jellyfish’ galaxies, named for their beautiful trailing tentacles, were released. These jellyfish are all travelling through galaxy clusters, ploughing through the diffuse gas that pervades such clusters. The resulting ‘ram pressure’ strips gas from the galaxies and creates these trailing streamers, where new stars form.

March: This month features three images that give radically different views of the galaxy NGC 6822. At the bottom, in Webb’s mid-infrared image, the emission of light by galactic dust is prominent, obscuring the galaxy’s stars. In the middle, the near-infrared image shows the galaxy’s countless stars in incredible detail. The two views are combined in the top image.

April: Released to celebrate Hubble’s 33rd anniversary in April 2023, this month features the star-forming nebula NGC 1333 in the Perseus molecular cloud. Hubble’s colourful view, showcasing its unique ability to obtain images in light from ultraviolet to near-infrared, unveils an effervescent cauldron of gases and dust stirred up by newly forming stars within the dark cloud.

May: A massive galaxy cluster, SPT-CL J0019-2026, dominates the centre of this month’s image from Hubble. The view is populated with a serene collection of elliptical and spiral galaxies, but galaxies surrounding the central cluster appear stretched into bright arcs, an amazing example of gravitational lensing.

June: Webb’s view of the Orion Bar region is a part of the Orion Nebula that hosts intense star formation activity and active astrochemistry. Harsh ultraviolet light from the stars of the Trapezium Cluster carves out a rich tapestry of cavities and filaments.

July: The distorted galaxy NGC 3256 is the result of an ancient clash between two galaxies. The image from Webb captures infrared light from dust grains, irradiated by young stars that were formed from the collision. The image from Hubble highlights hot, massive stars in the two galactic cores, shrouded by dark dust that blocks visible light.

August: A portion of the open cluster NGC 6530 appears as a roiling wall of smoke studded with stars in this month’s image from Hubble. The cluster is set within the larger Lagoon Nebula, a gigantic interstellar cloud of gas and dust; it is the nebula that gives this image its distinctly smokey appearance.

September: In its first year the James Webb Space Telescope has returned stunning infrared images of the Solar System’s outer planets and some of their moons. Featured this month are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

October: The graceful winding arms of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 stretch across this month’s Webb image. This galactic portrait is a composite image that integrates both near-infrared and mid-infrared data. Red colours trace out dust grains, while orange and yellow reveal regions of gas ionised by recently formed star clusters.

November: This month features a star-filled view from the Hubble Space Telescope of Terzan 12, a globular cluster embedded in our Milky Way galaxy. Creeping tendrils of galactic gas and dust blanket large portions of Terzan 12, giving some stars a sinister red hue. Relatively unobscured stars shine brightly in white and blue.

December: This month’s image features the central region of the Chameleon I dark cloud. Cold, wispy cloud material is illuminated in the infrared by the glow of a young, shrouded protostar. Its study points at icy molecules forming in clouds of gas and dust that will one day form stars and planets

Please note that hard copies are not available directly from ESA/Hubble/Webb. We invite you to avail yourself of the free calendar formats below.

Announcement of Opportunity for ESA-appointed representatives to join the NASA-GOMAP START team for the Habitable Worlds Observatory

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0200

A special Announcement of Opportunity (AO) is soliciting the participation of the European community in the role of ESA-appointed representatives to the NASA Great Observatory Maturation Program’s (GOMAP) Science, Technology, Architecture Review Team (START) for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission.

The 2020 National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro2020) recommended a "Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation Program" as its highest priority in Enabling Programs for Space. Astro2020 further recommended that the first mission to enter the maturation program be an infrared-optical-ultraviolet (IR/Optical/UV) space telescope. In response to these recommendations, NASA has established the Great Observatory Maturation Program (GOMAP). Consistent with the guidance from Astro2020, the first entrant into GOMAP will be the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), a space-based IR/Optical/UV telescope. As part of GOMAP, NASA will form and coordinate a series of groups whose collective activities will perform and document analyses that advance HWO's concept maturity. These analyses will inform a future pre-phase-A project's decisions on HWO science, technology, and architecture trades. One of the groups being formed is the START. The START will translate the Astro2020 science objectives and goals into quantified observational capabilities for HWO.

ESA will appoint up to three representatives to the START. These positions will be for the duration of the START activities (expected to be between 18-36 months) or for a duration of 36 months, whichever comes first. With the exception of expenses incurred while travelling for activities related to the current call (a maximum of two transatlantic trips per year), ESA will not fund the activities of the scientists and each proposer is responsible for securing their own funding from other sources.

The AO is open to scientists and engineers based in ESA Member States. Early career scientists and historically under-represented groups in astronomy and space sciences are encouraged to apply.

Full details of this AO and the relevant submission forms can be found in the ESA HWO-START call. Proposals in response to this AO must be preceded by a mandatory Letter of Intent. Proposals not preceded by a Letter of Intent will not be considered. The Letters of Intent are due by 12 noon CET, 1 November 2023, and the deadline for receipt of proposals is 12:00 CEST, 30 November 2023.

Webb’s wide-angle view of the Orion Nebula is released in ESASky

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 12:00:00 +0200

- By Chris Evans, Mark McCaughrean, Sandor Kruk, and Sam Pearson -

New images of the Orion Nebula from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have been included in ESA’s ESASky application, which has a user-friendly interface to visualise and download astronomical data.

One of the brightest nebulae in the night sky is Messier 42, the Orion Nebula, located south of Orion’s belt. At its core is the young Trapezium Cluster of stars, the most massive of which illuminate the surrounding gas and dust with their intense ultraviolet radiation fields, while protostars continue to form today in the OMC-1 molecular cloud behind. The nebula is a treasure trove for astronomers studying the formation and early evolution of stars, with a rich diversity of phenomena and objects, including: outflows and planet-forming disks around young stars; embedded protostars; brown dwarfs; free-floating planetary mass objects; and photodissociation regions – the interface regions where the radiation from the massive stars heats, shapes and influences the chemistry of the gas.

The new imaging was obtained with Webb’s near-infrared camera, NIRCam, and has been made into two mosaics, one each from the short and long wavelength channels. These are among the largest Webb mosaics observed to date and given the high resolution and large area, they have been incorporated in ESASky to enable easy exploration of the plethora of interesting astronomical sources contained within them. The short-wavelength mosaic maximises Webb’s angular resolution to reveal beautiful details in discs and outflows, while the long-wavelength one showcases the intricate network of dust and organic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We encourage you to explore these images to see what hidden treasures you can find!

The science data were obtained as part of the Webb Cycle One programme #1256.

Announcement of the 2023 ESA Hubble and Webb Calendar

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0100

To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and the first year of operations with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions for 2023.

The 2023 calendar features a selection of images from Press Releases (from Hubble and Webb), Hubble Pictures of the Week and Webb Pictures of the Month published throughout 2022. These include imagery of planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more. It can now be accessed electronically for anyone to print, share and enjoy (please see the links provided below).

The images featured in the calendar are as follows:

Cover: This landscape of mountains and valleys speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible regions of star birth.

January: The protostar L1527, shown in this image from the James Webb Space Telescope, is embedded within a cloud of material that is feeding its growth. Material ejected from the star has cleared out cavities above and below it, whose boundaries glow orange and blue in this infrared view.

February: The image on the left is the first deep-field image from the James Webb Space Telescope, showcasing thousands of galaxies of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 in the near-infrared. The image on the right from the Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy cluster Abell 611, located roughly 3.2 billion light-years from Earth.

March: In this mosaic image stretching 340 light-years across, the James Webb Space Telescope showcases the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region in infrared light, including tens of thousands of previously unseen young stars that are obscured by cosmic dust in visible-light images.

April: This month features four galaxy mergers. The objects are IC 1623 (top left, as seen by Webb), Arp 248 (bottom left, as seen by Hubble), Arp 282 (top right, as seen by Hubble), and IC 2431 (bottom right, as seen by Hubble).

May: Two views from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal the planetary nebula NGC 3132, also known as the Southern Ring. The left image is a sharp near-infrared view of the nebula, while the view on the right is in mid-infrared wavelengths, and captures the dust shrouding one of the white dwarf stars at the nebula’s centre.

June: Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System, is featured here in near-infrared wavelengths as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. Different colours mark the light from the planet’s aurorae, and the clouds and hazes at different depths in the atmosphere. The Great Red Spot shines brightly with reflected near-infrared light from the Sun.

July: This montage displays four globular star clusters as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Shown here are Liller 1 (top left), Terzan 9 (bottom left), Terzan 4 (top right) and NGC 6569 (bottom right). Each is filled with both redder, older stars and bluer, younger ones.

August: These images show unusual, densely packed groupings of entire galaxies. The left image, in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope, is of the soon-to-merge galaxies of HCG 40. The right image, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light, is of the interacting galaxies of HCG 92 — also known as Stephan’s Quintet.

September: This celestial cloudscape from the Hubble Space Telescope captures the colourful region surrounding the Herbig-Haro object HH 505. The Orion Nebula is awash in intense ultraviolet radiation from bright young stars. Outflows from such stars collide with gas and dust, creating the shockwaves known as Herbig-Haro objects that are brightly visible to Hubble.

October: This montage features three views of M74, also known as the Phantom Galaxy. The left section of this image is a visible-light image from the Hubble Space Telescope, while the right section, in mid-infrared wavelengths, comes from the James Webb Space Telescope. In the centre, data from both telescopes are combined for a truly unique view into the heart of the object.

November: Two views of the famous Pillars of Creation, part of the Eagle Nebula, are revealed here by the James Webb Space Telescope. The left, mid-infrared, image details the spread of interstellar dust. On the right, the near-infrared image highlights bright, newly-formed stars.

December: NGC 7038 is displayed in glorious detail here by the Hubble Space Telescope. The image is remarkably detailed, combining over 15 hours of observations to expose distant stars and galaxies in the background. The spiral galaxy filling the frame here contains celestial objects that can be used to measure distances on cosmic scales.

Webb’s First Full-Colour Images and Data Are Set to Sound

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0200

A team of experts, including scientists and musicians, has created a new way to explore the images and data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The first two tracks map the prismatic landscapes of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula as well as two views of the Southern Ring Nebula. A third track plays the notes of a transmission spectrum, which graphs the atmospheric characteristics of hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b. All allow listeners to pick out key features and experience the data in a new way.

There’s a new, immersive way to explore some of the first full-colour infrared images and data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope — through sound. Listeners can enter the complex soundscape of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula, explore the contrasting tones of two images that depict the Southern Ring Nebula, and identify the individual data points in a transmission spectrum of hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-96 b.

A team of scientists, musicians, and a member of the blind and visually impaired community worked to adapt Webb’s data, with support from the Webb mission and NASA’s Universe of Learning. These audio tracks specifically support blind and low-vision listeners, but are designed to be captivating to anyone who tunes in.

The tracks are not actual sounds recorded in space. Instead, Webb’s data have been mapped into sound, and the music has been carefully composed to accurately represent details the team would like listeners to focus on. In a way, these sonifications are like modern dance or abstract painting: they convert Webb’s images and data to a new medium to engage and inspire listeners.

The following tracks have been developed:

The full array of Webb’s first images and spectra, including downloadable files, can be explored here: https://esawebb.org/initiatives/webbs-first-images/.

Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. Under an international collaboration agreement, ESA provided the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI, which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

These sonifications are a result of a collaboration between NASA’s Universe of Learning programme and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Accessibility Production Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Kimberly Arcand (CXC, SAO), Matt Russo (SYSTEM Sounds), Andrew Santaguida (SYSTEM Sounds), Quyen Hart (STScI), Claire Blome (STScI), Christine Malec

Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet In Special Briefing

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:23:56 +0200

The international NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has delivered the deepest, sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe so far. U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled the image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, during a White House event on Monday 11 July.

“Webb's First Deep Field is not only the first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope, it’s the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe, so far. This image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. It’s just a tiny sliver of the vast universe," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This mission was made possible by human ingenuity – the incredible NASA Webb team and our international partners at the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Webb is just the start of what we can accomplish in the future when we work together for the benefit of humanity."

The image – which focuses on a spot in the sky that, from the perspective of someone on the ground, is about the size of what would be covered by a grain of sand held at arm’s length – reveals thousands of galaxies, including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared.

“What an incredible honour for ESA and its international partners to reveal Webb’s first image from the White House,” says ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. “Only with teamwork, dedication, and the human drive to push boundaries and explore have we arrived at this historical moment of seeing the deepest view of the early Universe to date.”

Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image features the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, which is overflowing with detail.

“We are now even more excited for tomorrow’s release of further images and spectra from ESA-contributed instruments, which add another dimension to the Deep Field and the other stunning cosmic targets,” says ESA’s Director of Science, Günther Hasinger. “We are ready to begin our voyage back to early days of our Universe with this world-class observatory.”

“This is just a first glimpse of what Webb can do," says Macarena Garcia Marin, MIRI ESA Instrument Scientist. "While we are truly in awe today of Webb's first deep field, I can’t help but think of what images and science results are just around the corner in the many years to come!”

This image is among the telescope’s first-full colour images. The full suite will be released Tuesday 12 July, beginning at 16:30 CEST (a leadership address will be aired beforehand, at 15:45 CEST, and a media briefing will follow at 18:30 CEST). The full array of Webb’s first images and spectra, including downloadable files, will be made available here: https://esawebb.org/initiatives/webbs-first-images/

Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA has provided the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA has also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI, which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).