Since their discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022, little red dots (LRDs) have been the subject of great interest to astronomers. Understanding the nature of these extremely distant, compact red sources has been a puzzling scientific endeavor. One popular theory is that little red dots are supermassive black holes known as active […]
Category: James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
NASA’s Webb Discovers Hidden Planet in Famous Star System
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a giant planet outside our solar system, called an exoplanet, hiding within one of the most intensely studied planetary systems in our Milky Way galaxy. The young, nearby star Beta Pictoris was already known to host two giant planets: Beta Pictoris b, one of the first […]
NASA Webb Uncovers Unusual Galaxy Shaped by Cosmic Collision
In new images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to celebrate its fourth science anniversary, a familiar galaxy transforms into something far richer, and far more complex, than ever seen before. Webb’s unprecedented sensitivity across near- and mid-infrared wavelengths cuts through the thick lanes of dust that obscure Centaurus A’s center in visible light, showing […]
NASA’s Webb Reveals Stars Sparking to Life in Cosmic Celebration
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the infrared light of numerous features that previously were impossible to see beyond the thick dust of the FS Tau star system. In addition to myriad background galaxies that burst into view like fireworks for the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations, this image flickers with a number of […]
NASA’s Webb Studies How Planet Survived Death of its Star
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is giving us new insight into the far-future of solar systems like our own, as the agency continues to reveal the secrets of the universe and our place in it. Billions of years ago, a Sun-like star nearing the end of its life swelled tremendously in size to become a […]
Millions of Stars in Cigar Galaxy
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), nicknamed the Cigar Galaxy. Webb’s new view of M82, added to archival data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, gives us a more complete picture of this starburst galaxy. Because Webb can see infrared light, it is able to peer through clouds of […]
NASA’s Webb Pinpoints Millions of Stars Within Cigar Galaxy
Located 12 million light-years away and undergoing rapid star formation, edge-on spiral galaxy Messier 82 (M82) is a scientifically unique sight to behold, and now NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed previously unseen details. M82’s intense star formation, thought to be the result of a galaxy merger, will be a short-lived event in astronomical […]
NASA’s Webb Finds Clues to Ancient, Distant Origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS
As interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS began moving away from the Sun in December 2025, astronomers took the opportunity to turn NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope in its direction and capture detailed measurements of its chemical components. The comet was freshly warmed from its closest pass by the Sun, and its ancient ice had been converted […]
Stages of Star Formation
This image, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and released on June 5, 2026, shows just a small portion of one of the Orion Molecular Clouds, a long and massive filament of cold gas and dust beyond the Orion Nebula. Every stage of star formation — from the youngest stellar embryos to protoplanetary discs […]