ESA/Webb/NASA/CSA
This composite image of nebula NGC 1333 captures minute detail of young stars and brown dwarfs. These details were previously obscured in Hubble Telescope's images of the same nebula.
NASA/ESA/CSA/M. Marin (STScI)
NASA released this image of galaxy Arp 142 on July 12, to mark the two-year anniversary of the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
This Webb image shows a densely populated spiral galaxy anchored by a central region that has a light blue haze, known NGC 628. It's 32 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces.
NASA/ESA/CSA/ STScI
In this new image of Uranus, the planet shines shine brightly, along with its many rings and moons.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The James Webb Space Telescope's shot of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A shows elaborate details visible for the first time.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
There are approximately 500,000 stars in this image of the Sagittarius C region of the Milky Way. The bright cyan area contains emissions from ionized hydrogen.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
Galaxy cluster MACS0416 is seen here in exquisite detail thanks to a composite image created with data from both NASA's James Webb and Hubble space telescopes.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Tea Temim
Scientists are hoping to gain more information about the origins of the Crab Nebula, thanks to new details spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope.
ESA/Webb/NASA/CSA
This image shows the Ring Nebula in exceptional detail, like the filament elements in the ring's inner section.
NASA/ESA/CSA
Earendel, the most distant star ever discovered, can be seen in this image of the Sunrise Arc galaxy.
NASA/ESA/CSA/JWST Ring Nebula Team
The Ring Nebula is seen in breathtaking detail, in a composite image released on August 4.
J. DePasquale/CSA/ESA/NASA
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a high-resolution image of a pair of actively forming stars called Herbig-Haro 46/47. The stellar duo, only a few thousand years old, is located at the center of the red diffraction spikes.
NASA/ESA/CSA/Klaus Pontoppidan, STScI
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a detailed closeup of the birth of sunlike stars in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud, the closest star-forming region located 390 light-years from Earth. The young stars release jets that cause the surrounding gas to glow. The image's release marks the first anniversary of Webb's observations of the cosmos.
NASA
Saturn and its moons were captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope June 25. The image shows details of the planet's atmosphere and ring system.
ESA/Webb/NASA/CSA
The James Webb Space Telescope captured the Orion Bar, a part of the Orion Nebula that is being eroded by stellar radiation emanating from the Trapezium Cluster.
NASA/ESA/CSA
This composite image, shot from the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI and NIRCam instruments, shows the bright clusters of stars and dust from barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
Webb captured a burst of star formation triggered by two colliding spiral galaxies called Arp 220. The phenomenon is the closest ultra-luminous galactic merger to Earth.
NASA/ESA/CSA/A. Pagan/A. Gáspár
Dusty rings surround Fomalhaut, a young star outside of our solar system that's 25 light-years from Earth.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Webb ERO Production Team
The Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 was one of the James Webb Space Telescope's first discoveries, spotted in June 2022.
NASA/ESA/CSA/D. D. Milisavljevic/T. Temim/I. De Looze
Stunning details can be seen in this Webb telescope photo of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, which is 11,000 light-years from Earth.
Space Telescope Science Institut/STScI
Webb's image of ice giant Uranus shows off the planet's incredible rings and a bright haze covering its north polar cap (right). A bright cloud lies at the cap's edge and a second one is seen at left.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The James Webb Space Telescope captured 50,000 sources of near-infrared light in a new image of Pandora's Cluster, a megacluster of galaxies. The cluster acts like a magnifying glass, allowing astronomers to see more distant galaxies behind it.
NASA/ESA/CSA
Stars shine through the hazy material of the Chamaeleon I dark molecular cloud, which is 630 light-years away from Earth.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/A. Pagan
The James Webb Space Telescope spotted NGC 346, one of the most dynamic star-forming regions near the Milky Way, located in a dwarf galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud.
NASA/ESA
Two galaxies, known as II ZW96, form a swirl shape while merging in the constellation Delphinus.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The James Webb Space Telescope revealed features of a new protostar forming.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a new perspective of the Pillars of Creation in mid-infrared light. The dust of this star-forming region, rather than the stars themselves, is the highlight, and resembles ghostly figures.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
Webb captured a highly detailed snapshot of the so-called Pillars of Creation, a vista of three looming towers made of interstellar dust and gas that's speckled with newly formed stars. The area, which lies within the Eagle Nebula about 6,500 light-years from Earth, had previously been captured by the Hubble Telescope in 1995, creating an image deemed "iconic" by space observers.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/JPL-Caltech
The two stars in WR140 produce shells of dust every eight years that look like rings, as captured by the Webb telescope.
NASA/ESA/CSA/ASU/UA/UM/JWST PEARLs Team
The James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope contributed to this image of galactic pair VV 191. Webb observed the brighter elliptical galaxy (left) and spiral galaxy (right) in near-infrared light, and Hubble collected data in visible and ultraviolet light.
ESA/NASA/CSA/J. Lee
The James Webb Space Telescope captured spiral galaxy IC 5332, which is over 29 million light-years away. The observatory's MIRI instrument peered through interstellar dust to see the galaxy's "bones."
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
Webb captured the clearest view of the Neptune's rings in over 30 years.
NASA/ESA/CSA/PDRS4all
The inner region of the Orion Nebula as seen by the telescope's NIRCam instrument. The image reveals intricate details about how stars and planetary systems are formed.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Webb ERO Production Team
NASA released a mosaic image of the Tarantula Nebula on Tuesday, September 6. The image, which spans 340 light-years, shows tens of thousands of young stars that were previously obscured by cosmic dust.
NASA/ESA
A new image of the Phantom Galaxy, which is 32 million light-years away from Earth, combines data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope.
NASA/ESA/CSA/Jupiter ERS Team
NASA released an image of Jupiter on Monday, August 22, that shows the planet's famous Great Red Spot appearing white.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The James Webb Space Telescope captured the Cartwheel galaxy, which is around 500 million light-years away, in a photo released by NASA on August 2.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
Webb's landscape-like view, called "Cosmic Cliffs," is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. The telescope's infrared view reveals previously invisible areas of star birth.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The five galaxies of Stephan's Quintet can be seen here in a new light. The galaxies appear to dance with one another, showcasing how these interactions can drive galactic evolution.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
This side-by-side comparison shows observations of the Southern Ring Nebula in near-infrared light, left, and mid-infrared light, right, from NASA's Webb telescope. The Southern Ring Nebula is 2,000 light-years away from Earth. This large planetary nebula includes an expanding cloud of gas around a dying star, as well as a secondary star earlier on in its evolution.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
President Joe Biden released one of Webb's first images on July 11, and it's "the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date," according to NASA. The image shows SMACS 0723, where a massive group of galaxy clusters act as a magnifying glass for the objects behind them. Called gravitational lensing, this created Webb's first deep field view of incredibly old and distant, faint galaxies.

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CNN  — 

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a stunning new image of the closest star-forming region to Earth, located 390 light-years away.

The release of the image marks the first anniversary since the space observatory began observing the universe.

Webb’s detailed closeup showcases the chaos of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, where crisscrossing jets from young sunlike stars hit interstellar gas and cause it to glow.

Some of the stars are wreathed in shadows that hint at circumstellar disks, the swirling rings of gas and dust where planets are born.

The cloud complex contains 50 stars similar in mass to our sun, which means these future planetary systems may resemble what our own solar system looked like in the very beginning.

The darkest parts of the image are where stars that are still forming are cocooned in dust, while the jets of molecular hydrogen make bold splashes in red.

“Webb’s image of Rho Ophiuchi allows us to witness a very brief period in the stellar lifecycle with new clarity. Our own Sun experienced a phase like this, long ago, and now we have the technology to see the beginning of another’s star’s story,” said Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland and research scientist at NASA, in a statement.

The most powerful telescope ever sent to space, Webb launched on December 25, 2021, and NASA shared its first set of scintillating images on July 12, 2022.

The space observatory’s first glimpses of the universe included distant galaxies, the atmospheric composition of an exoplanet and a stellar nursery, where stars are born.

“In just one year, the James Webb Space Telescope has transformed humanity’s view of the cosmos, peering into dust clouds and seeing light from faraway corners of the universe for the very first time. Every new image is a new discovery, empowering scientists around the globe to ask and answer questions they once could never dream of,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a statement.

“Webb is an investment in American innovation but also a scientific feat made possible with NASA’s international partners that share a can-do spirit to push the boundaries of what is known to be possible. Thousands of engineers, scientists, and leaders poured their life’s passion into this mission, and their efforts will continue to improve our understanding of the origins of the universe – and our place in it.”

Unveiling the secrets of the universe

Webb captures the universe in infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye. The telescope cuts through obscuring gas and dust across the cosmos to reveal previously unseen features and showcase other celestial details with advanced precision.

While the initial images provided a sample of Webb’s capabilities, the telescope’s first year of cosmic observations has been nothing short of awe-inspiring, and the discoveries it has enabled have both encouraged and surprised astronomers.

“On its first anniversary, the James Webb Space Telescope has already delivered upon its promise to unfold the universe, gifting humanity with a breathtaking treasure trove of images and science that will last for decades,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a statement.

“An engineering marvel built by the world’s leading scientists and engineers, Webb has given us a more intricate understanding of galaxies, stars, and the atmospheres of planets outside of our solar system than ever before, laying the groundwork for NASA to lead the world in a new era of scientific discovery and the search for habitable worlds.”

One of Webb’s greatest strengths is capturing the faint light of incredibly distant galaxies. The observatory can essentially peer back in time as it studies cosmic objects that formed shortly after the beginning of the universe.

Given the vastness of the universe, studying its earliest days is like looking back in time. Faint light from the oldest galaxies is still traveling across the universe to reach Earth, so the farthest reaches of the universe visible to scientists is light from the past.

In its first year alone, the telescope has already identified some of the most distant galaxies ever observed, which formed just a few hundred million years after the big bang.

Studying these galaxies, which have been beyond the observational reach of other telescopes, can help astronomers piece together more details about the early days of the universe — including how the first galaxies and stars came to be.

The telescope has observed a broad range of galaxies and other celestial objects, creating a catalog of cosmic phenomena that could change the way scientists understand the universe.

Webb has witnessed an unusual star on the brink of exploding, identified elements in icy space clouds, captured hidden structures inside spiral galaxies, spied weather patterns on a distant planet and spotted water on a rare comet. The telescope has also flexed its keen eye for chemistry and demonstrated its ability to identify organic molecules across the universe.

“The breadth of science Webb is capable of exploring really becomes clear now, when we have a full year’s worth of data from targets across the sky,” said Eric Smith, associate director for research in the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters and Webb program scientist, in a statement.

“Webb’s first year of science has not only taught us new things about our universe, but it has revealed the capabilities of the telescope to be greater than our expectations, meaning future discoveries will be even more amazing.”

In addition to unveiling previously hidden aspects of the universe and distant galaxies, astronomers also used Webb to observe more well-known features in new ways.

The telescope captured both starry and ghostly images of the Pillars of Creation as well as spying never-before-seen details in the Cassiopeia A supernova. Both have served as the targets of other telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope in the past.

Webb has also conducted observations a little closer to home, capturing views of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in an eye-opening new light. The telescope also glimpsed a plume rising off of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and clouds on the ringed planet’s moon Titan.

While Webb has the ability to peer inside the atmospheres of exoplanets, the observatory also discovered its first exoplanet.

And it’s just the beginning. The telescope’s team at NASA estimates that Webb will be able to spend the next two decades revealing the invisible side of the universe and leading the way to discoveries both anticipated and unknown.

“With a year of science under our belts, we know exactly how powerful this telescope is, and have delivered a year of spectacular data and discoveries,” said Webb Senior Project Scientist Jane Rigby of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in a statement. “We’ve selected an ambitious set of observations for year two — that builds on everything we’ve learned so far. Webb’s science mission is just getting started — there’s so much more to come.”