Science News
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Webb First to Show 4 Dust Shells ‘Spiraling’ Apep, Limits Long Orbit
2025.11.19
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a first of its kind: a crisp mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine spirals of dust, one expanding beyond the next in precisely the same pattern. (The fourth is almost transparent, at the edges of Webb’s image.) Observations taken prior to Webb only detected one shell, […]
NASA’s Webb Telescope Studies Moon-Forming Disk Around Massive Planet
2025.09.29
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided the first direct measurements of the chemical and physical properties of a potential moon-forming disk encircling a large exoplanet. The carbon-rich disk 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 […]
NASA’s Webb Explores Largest Star-Forming Cloud in Milky Way
2025.09.24
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a colorful array of massive stars and glowing cosmic dust in the Sagittarius B2 molecular cloud, the most massive and active star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy. “Webb’s powerful infrared instruments provide detail we’ve never been able to see before, which will help us to understand some […]
NASA’s Webb Observes Immense Stellar Jet on Outskirts of Our Milky Way
2025.09.10
A blowtorch of seething gasses erupting from a volcanically growing monster star has been captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Stretching across 8 light-years, the length of the stellar eruption is approximately twice the distance between our Sun and the next nearest stars, the Alpha Centauri system. The size and strength of this particular […]
Ami Choi: Unraveling the Invisible Universe
2025.09.09
Research Astrophysicist and Roman’s Deputy Wide Field Instrument Scientist – Goddard Space Flight Center From a young age, Ami Choi — now a research astrophysicist at NASA — was drawn to the vast and mysterious. By the fifth grade, she had narrowed her sights to two career paths: marine biology or astrophysics. “I’ve always been […]
NASA Webb Looks at Earth-Sized, Habitable-Zone Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e
2025.09.08
Scientists are in the midst of observing the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Careful analysis of the results so far presents several potential scenarios for what the planet’s atmosphere and surface may be like, as NASA science missions lay key groundwork to answer the question, “are we alone in the universe?” […]
Glittering Glimpse of Star Birth From NASA’s Webb Telescope
2025.09.04
This is a sparkling scene of star birth captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. What appears to be a craggy, starlit mountaintop kissed by wispy clouds is actually a cosmic dust-scape being eaten away by the blistering winds and radiation of nearby, massive, infant stars. Called Pismis 24, this young star cluster resides in […]
Katie Bisci: Resourcing for Big Science
2025.08.28
Deputy Project Manager for Resources – Goddard Space Flight Center How are you helping set the stage for the Roman mission? I’m a deputy project manager for resources on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team, sharing the role with Kris Steeley. Together, we oversee the business team, finance, outreach, scheduling, and more. I focus […]
NASA Test Deploys Roman Space Telescope Solar Panels, ‘Visor’
2025.08.26
On Aug. 7 and 8, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team assessed the observatory’s solar panels and a visor-like sunshade called the deployable aperture cover — two components that will be stowed for launch and unfold in space. Engineers confirmed their successful operation during a closely monitored sequence in simulated space-like conditions. On the […]
New Moon Discovered Orbiting Uranus Using NASA’s Webb Telescope
2025.08.19
Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has identified a previously unknown moon orbiting Uranus, expanding the planet’s known satellite family to 29. The detection was made during a Webb observation Feb. 2, 2025.
Webb Narrows Atmospheric Possibilities for Earth-sized Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 d
2025.08.13
The exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 d intrigues astronomers looking for possibly habitable worlds beyond our solar system because it is similar in size to Earth, rocky, and resides in an area around its star where liquid water on its surface is theoretically possible. But according to a new study using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, […]
NASA’s Webb Finds New Evidence for Planet Around Closest Solar Twin
2025.08.07
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have found strong evidence of a giant planet orbiting a star in the stellar system closest to our own Sun. At just 4 light-years away from Earth, the Alpha Centauri triple star system has long been a compelling target in the search for worlds beyond our solar system. […]
NASA Installs Key ‘Sunblock’ Shield on Roman Space Telescope
2025.07.31
Technicians have successfully installed two sunshields onto NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s inner segment. Along with the observatory’s Solar Array Sun Shield and Deployable Aperture Cover, the panels (together called the Lower Instrument Sun Shade), will play a critical role in keeping Roman’s instruments cool and stable as the mission explores the infrared universe. […]
NASA’s Webb Traces Details of Complex Planetary Nebula
2025.07.30
Since their discovery in the late 1700s, astronomers have learned that planetary nebulae, or the expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a low-intermediate mass star late in its life, can come in all shapes and sizes. Most planetary nebula present as circular, elliptical, or bi-polar, but some stray from the norm, as seen in […]
One Survey by NASA’s Roman Could Unveil 100,000 Cosmic Explosions
2025.07.15
Scientists predict one of the major surveys by NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope may reveal around 100,000 celestial blasts, ranging from exploding stars to feeding black holes. Roman may even find evidence of some of the universe’s first stars, which are thought to completely self-destruct without leaving any remnant behind. Cosmic explosions offer […]
NASA’s Webb Scratches Beyond Surface of Cat’s Paw for 3rd Anniversary
2025.07.10
It’s the cat’s meow! To celebrate its third year of revealing stunning scenes of the cosmos in infrared light, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has “clawed” back the thick, dusty layers of a section within the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334).
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Team Installs Observatory’s Solar Panels
2025.07.10
On June 14 and 16, technicians installed solar panels onto NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, one of the final steps in assembling the observatory. Collectively called the Solar Array Sun Shield, these panels will power and shade the observatory, enabling all the mission’s observations and helping keep the instruments cool. “At this point, the […]
NASA’s Webb Scratches Beyond Surface of Cat’s Paw for 3rd Anniversary
2025.07.10
It’s the cat’s meow! To celebrate its third year of revealing stunning scenes of the cosmos in infrared light, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has “clawed” back the thick, dusty layers of a section within the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334). Focusing Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on a single “toe bean” within this active star-forming […]
3 Years of Science: 10 Cosmic Surprises from NASA’s Webb Telescope
2025.07.02
Since July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been unwaveringly focused on our universe. With its unprecedented power to detect and analyze otherwise invisible infrared light, Webb is making observations that were once impossible, changing our view of the cosmos from the most distant galaxies to our own solar system. Webb was built with […]
NASA’s Webb Digs into Structural Origins of Disk Galaxies
2025.06.26
Present-day disk galaxies often contain a thick, star-filled outer disk and an embedded thin disk of stars. For instance, our own Milky Way galaxy’s thick disk is approximately 3,000 light-years in height, and its thin disk is roughly 1,000 light-years thick. How and why does this dual disk structure form? By analyzing archival data from […]
NASA’s Roman to Peer Into Cosmic ‘Lenses’ to Better Define Dark Matter
2025.06.12
A funky effect Einstein predicted, known as gravitational lensing — when a foreground galaxy magnifies more distant galaxies behind it — will soon become common when NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins science operations in 2027 and produces vast surveys of the cosmos.
NASA+ Documentary “Cosmic Dawn” Reveals Untold Story of James Webb Space Telescope
2025.06.11
What does it take to gaze through time to our universe’s very first stars and galaxies? NASA answers this question in its new documentary, “Cosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope.”
NASA’s Webb ‘UNCOVERs’ Galaxy Population Driving Cosmic Renovation
2025.06.11
Astronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified dozens of small galaxies that played a starring role in a cosmic makeover that transformed the early universe into the one we know today. “When it comes to producing ultraviolet light, these small galaxies punch well above their weight,” said Isak Wold, an assistant […]
Frigid Exoplanet in Strange Orbit Imaged by NASA’s Webb
2025.06.10
A planetary system described as abnormal, chaotic, and strange by researchers has come into clearer view with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), researchers have successfully imaged one of two known planets surrounding the star 14 Herculis, located 60 light-years away from Earth.
Showing 1 to 24 of 641.