ESAWebb News

Photo Release: Webb and Hubble share most comprehensive view of Saturn to date

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:00:00 +0100

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have joined forces to capture new views of Saturn, revealing the planet in strikingly different ways.

Photo Release: Webb examines Cranium Nebula

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0100

Astronomers are losing their heads over the latest images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, which bear a striking resemblance to a transparent cosmic cranium, revealing the “brain” inside. The nebula, officially named PMR 1, is being created by an aging star that is expelling its outer layers.

Science Release: Webb locates former star that exploded as supernova

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0100

For the first time, astronomers have used images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to identify a supernova progenitor that could not be seen by any other telescope: a red supergiant that was located in a nearby galaxy. The supergiant’s surroundings were surprisingly dusty - dusty enough to render it invisible to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Science Release: Webb maps the mysterious upper atmosphere of Uranus

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0100

For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet. Using Webb’s NIRSpec instrument, the team observed Uranus for nearly a full rotation, detecting the faint glow from molecules high above the clouds. These unique data provide the most detailed portrait yet of where the planet’s auroras form, how they are influenced by its unusually tilted magnetic field, and how Uranus’s atmosphere has continued to cool over the past three decades. The results offer a new window into how ice-giant planets distribute energy in their upper layers.

Science Release: Webb pushes boundaries of observable Universe closer to Big Bang

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0100

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering on its promise to push the boundaries of the observable Universe closer to cosmic dawn with the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed 280 million years after the Big Bang.

Photo Release: Intricacies of the Helix Nebula revealed by Webb

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0100

First spotted in the early 1800s, the Helix Nebula has become one of the most iconic planetary nebulas in the sky as it’s recognised for its striking, ring-like shape. One of the closest planetary nebulas to Earth, it has become a favourite among astronomers using ground- and space-based telescopes to study the final moments of a dying star in the greatest detail. The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has now leveled those studies up, offering the clearest infrared look at this familiar object.

Science Release: Webb identifies earliest supernova to date, shows host galaxy

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 17:00:00 +0100

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed the source of a super-bright flash of light known as a gamma-ray burst, generated by an exploding massive star when the Universe was only 730 million years old. For the first time for such a remote event, the telescope provided a detection of the supernova’s host galaxy. Webb’s quick-turnaround observations verified data taken by telescopes around the world that had been following the gamma-ray burst since its onset, which occurred in mid-March.

Science Release: Webb witnesses a feasting supermassive black hole in the early Universe

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed an actively growing supermassive black hole within a galaxy just 570 million years after the Big Bang. Part of a class of small, very distant galaxies that have mystified astronomers, CANUCS-LRD-z8.6 represents a vital piece of this puzzle that challenges existing theories about the formation of galaxies and black holes in the early Universe. The discovery connects early black holes with the luminous quasars we observe today.

Science Release: Webb studies moon-forming disc around massive planet

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:00:00 +0200

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has provided the first direct measurements of the chemical and physical properties of a potential moon-forming disc encircling a large exoplanet. The carbon-rich disc surrounding the world called CT Cha b, which is located 625 light years away from Earth, is a possible construction yard for moons, although no moons are detected in the Webb data.

Photo Release: Webb explores largest star-forming cloud in the Milky Way

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 16:00:00 +0200

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a colourful array of massive stars and glowing cosmic dust in the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) molecular cloud, the most massive and active star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy.