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In 2008 NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope found a protoplanetary disk unlike any other. The dusty disk of gas surrounding the young Sun-like star SZ Chamaeleontis (SZ Cha) was being pummeled by extreme ultraviolet radiation – something previously seen only in computer models, never in the real universe. Planets in this system would have more time to form than in a disk being evaporated by X-rays, which is the norm. However, when the James Webb Space Telescope followed up on SZ Cha, it found nothing out of the ordinary – no abundance of ultraviolet radiation. In a short space of cosmic time, conditions in SZ Cha’s disk had changed, leaving astronomers to untangle meaning from the mismatched data and its implications for the formation of other solar systems.

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When two flagship observatories unite, they reveal a wealth of new details only possible through their combined power. Webb and Hubble have joined forces to study the galaxy cluster MACS0416, located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth. Their combined data yields a prismatic panorama of blues and reds – colors that give clues to the distances of the galaxies.

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The James Webb Space Telescope has witnessed the planet-forming process in action, revealing a connection between water vapor in the inner disk and the drifting of icy pebbles from the outer disk. This finding opens exciting, new vistas into the study of rocky planet formation.

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The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Lotz as the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). Dr. Lotz will begin her five-year appointment as STScI Director starting February 12, 2024.

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Although the Crab Nebula is one of the most well-studied supernova remnants, questions about its progenitor and the nature of the explosion that created it still remain unanswered. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is on the case as it sleuths for any clues that remain within the supernova remnant. Webb’s infrared sensitivity and spatial resolution are offering astronomers a more comprehensive understanding of the still-expanding scene.

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Using Webb’s spectacular sensitivity, scientists captured the first mid-infrared spectrum from space of a kilonova, which marked Webb’s first direct look at an individual heavy element from such an event.

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Jupiter has some of the most conspicuous atmospheric features in our solar system. The planet’s Great Red Spot, large enough to envelop Earth, is nearly as well known as some of the various rivers and mountains on the planet we call home. However, much like Earth, Jupiter is ever-changing, and there’s much about the planet we have yet to learn. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is unlocking some of those mysteries, revealing new features of Jupiter we’ve never seen before, including a high-speed jet speeding over the planet’s equator. While the jet stream is not as visually apparent or stunning as some of Jupiter’s other features, it’s giving researchers incredible insight into how the layers of the planet’s atmosphere interact with each other, and how Webb will aid in these investigations in the future.

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Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected evidence for quartz nanocrystals in the high-altitude clouds of WASP-17 b, a hot Jupiter exoplanet 1,300 light-years from Earth.

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Within a neighboring dwarf galaxy known as the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) lies a dramatic region of star birth – NGC 346, shown here. As the brightest and largest star-forming region in the SMC, it has been studied intensely by a variety of telescopes. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showed a visible-light view filled with thousands of stars. More recently, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope offered a near-infrared vista highlighting both cool and warm dust. Now, Webb has turned its mid-infrared gaze to NGC 346, revealing streamers of gas and dust studded with bright patches filled with young protostars.

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A very rare, strange burst of bright light in the universe just got even stranger—thanks to the eagle eye of the Hubble Space Telescope. The phenomenon, called a Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient (LFBOT), flashed onto the scene where it wasn't expected to be found, far away from any galaxy where stars typically blow up.

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Hubble zoomed in for a close-up look at one sliver of the Cygnus Loop nebula–a huge bubble of glowing gasses. Gossamer filaments resembling wrinkles in a bedsheet stretched across two light-years were found.

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For as long as humans have gazed into the night sky, we have wondered about life beyond the Earth. Scientists now know that several places in our solar system might have conditions suitable for life.

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The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has appointed Dr. Kristen McQuinn as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Mission Head. She will assume this role in mid-January 2024.

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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a high-resolution look at Herbig-Haro 211 (HH 211), a bipolar jet traveling through interstellar space at supersonic speeds.

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Carbon-bearing molecules have been discovered in the atmosphere of the habitable zone exoplanet K2-18 b by an international team of astronomers using data from the NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. These results are consistent with an exoplanet that may contain ocean-covered surface underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. This discovery provides a fascinating glimpse into a planet unlike anything else in our Solar System, and raises interesting prospects about potentially habitable worlds elsewhere in the Universe.

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A compact grouping of hundreds of thousands of stars nestled among the billions of stars in the Milky Way's disk appears in this Hubble image. Terzan 12 is among about 150 ancient globular star clusters orbiting our galaxy.

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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered new details in Supernova 1987A with its NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument. Structures, some only visible in infrared wavelengths, provide clues into the development of supernovas over time.

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Astronomers have uncovered a link between Neptune’s shifting cloud abundance and the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle that increases the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching the planet. This discovery is based on three decades of observations by Hubble.

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Detecting extremely distant stars, or those closest in time to the big bang, can provide insights into the first few chapters of the history of our universe. In 2022, the Hubble Space Telescope broke its own record, and spotted the most distant star yet. This star, nicknamed Earendel, emitted its light within the universe’s first billion years.

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The Fishhook. The Thin One. These are just two of the striking targets revealed in new detail by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. In July 2022 Webb observed El Gordo, a galaxy cluster that existed 6.2 billion years after the big bang. It was selected as the most massive galaxy cluster known at that time in cosmic history.