13 breathtaking images NASA's James Webb Space Telescope took this year that changed our understanding of the universe

Jessica Orwig,Morgan McFall-Johnsen,Jenny McGrath,Grace Eliza Goodwin,Marianne GuenotJan 16, 2024, 00:03 IST

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team, ESA/Webb, M. Barlow (UCL), N. Cox (ACRI-ST), R. Wesson (Cardiff University) M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), and the PDRs4All ERS Team

The James Webb Space Telescope is in its second year of operations.
NASA's space telescope marvel has allowed us to see and understand the universe in a whole new way.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is nothing short of a technological marvel. Able to see objects 100 times fainter than Hubble, it's the most powerful space telescope ever built.

Webb observes the cosmos in wavelengths of light that humans can't see, detecting never-before-seen objects that are helping astronomers view our universe in a whole new way.

Now, well into its second year of operations, Webb has given us spectacular images of the universe that are both breathtaking to gaze upon but also packed with scientific information about star formation, baby black holes, galaxy evolution, and much more.

In the process, Webb has led to groundbreaking discoveries and also created several new questions for astronomers to ponder. Here are some of the space telescope's most impressive images this year, and the discoveries and mysteries that came from them.

A record-breaking black hole

The James Webb and Chandra telescopes teamed up to produce this X-ray image of the most distant black hole ever discovered.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand

A secret star that Hubble missed

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured the Ring Nebula in unprecedented detail with its mid-infrared instrument.ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow (UCL), N. Cox (ACRI-ST), R. Wesson (Cardiff University)

A star on the brink of death and a cosmic mystery

NASA's James Webb took this stunning image of a pre-supernova star, called a Wolf-Rayet star, that's located 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

A mysterious question mark in space

Is the universe trying to tell us something?NASA, ESA, CSA. Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

700 newly discovered galaxies

James Webb Space Telescope has revealed 45,000 galaxies in this image, hundreds of which have never been seen until now.NASA, ESA, CSA, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Marcia Rieke (University of Arizona), Daniel Eisenstein (CfA)

The smallest brown dwarf ever seen

The central portion of the star cluster IC 348 as seen by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA)

A cosmic neighbor seen in exquisite detail

The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is a nearby stellar nursery bustling with star formation.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI)

A new discovery about the farthest star ever detected

Earendel, the farthest star ever detected, appears as a reddish streak in the Sunrise Arc galaxy in this image from Webb.NASA, ESA, CSA, D. Coe (STScI/AURA for ESA; Johns Hopkins University), B. Welch (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; University of Maryland, College Park). Image processing: Z. Levay.

The heart of the Crab Nebula

The Crab Nebula is located about 6,500 light-years away.Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, J. Hester, A. Loll (Arizona State University); Webb Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Temim (Princeton University).

Witnessing galaxy evolution from 46 million light-years away

NGC 1433 is a barred spiral galaxy 46 million light-years away.NASA, ESA, CSA, and J. Lee (NOIRLab). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI)

A stunning new look at Uranus

A new image of Uranus taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.NASA, ESA, CSA, Space Telescope Science Institute

A building block of life discovered 1,350 light-years away

Webb made a remarkable discovery in the Orion Nebula, located 1,350 light years away.ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), the PDRs4All ERS Team

The coldest ice in a molecular cloud

The Chamaeleon I dark molecular cloud is located 630 light-years away.NASA, ESA, CSA

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