The James Webb Space Telescope

[Frabjous]

Aren't repair missions out of the question with regards to its location?

Manned missions are out. There has been mention of an unmanned refueling mission (which would be difficult and is not currently planned)

 

[Filip Larsen]

Latest James Webb data hints at new physics in Universe’s expansion​

This latest study serves as a critical cross-check to the April paper, using three different measurements to determine distances to galaxies known to be hosts to supernovae. "Cross-checking Hubble might sound prosaic, but the Hubble results demonstrate a profound tension in the Universe between how fast it is expanding now (measured by Hubble) versus the prediction from the standard model, LambdaCDM (calibrated by the Cosmic Microwave Background)," lead author Adam Riess, of the Space Science Telescope Institute at Johns Hopkins University, told Ars. "So Webb confirming Hubble means we are really seeing something amiss in the Universe."

(And still a nice image, even if this JWST news is not as such about beautiful image details)

 

[pinball1970]

Latest James Webb data hints at new physics in Universe’s expansion​

View attachment 354324
(And still a nice image, even if this JWST news is not as such about beautiful image details)

the paper

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8c21

 

[mfb]

Yeah, but the government may fund the telescope for longer if it remains so popular.

It will get funding as long as the telescope can take data. Essentially every spacecraft does, because operating them is much cheaper than building them.

 

[pinball1970]

Yeah, but the government may fund the telescope for longer if it remains so popular.

The original mission was about 5-10 years but....

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was designed for a mission of at least five years, with a goal of 10 years. However, after the successful launch and commissioning of the telescope, the Webb team determined that the observatory should have enough propellant to support science operations in orbit for more than 20 years.

EDIT: "An L2 orbit is unstable, so JWST needs to use propellant to maintain its halo orbit around L2 (known as station-keeping) to prevent the telescope from drifting away from its orbital position.[189] It was designed to carry enough propellant for 10 years,[190] but the precision of the Ariane 5 launch and the first midcourse correction were credited with saving enough onboard fuel that JWST may be able to maintain its orbit for around 20 years instead.[191][192][193] Space.com called the launch "flawless".[194]"

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope

which referenced.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2021/12...l-likely-to-extend-its-lifetime-expectations/

 

[collinsmark]

It will get funding as long as the telescope can take data. Essentially every spacecraft does, because operating them is much cheaper than building them.

Well, let's hope that remains the case. Chandra X-ray telescope had a pretty close call of being decommissioned due to funding, even though it was quite operational.

"Scientists breathed a collective sigh of relief last week when NASA announced that the Chandra X-ray Observatory had been spared the chopping block — at least for another year. It was an abrupt about-face from plans announced in March to decommission the space-based telescope by this December.​

​

"Much of the credit for the 11th-hour stay of execution goes to a grassroots movement that dramatically demonstrated how public opinion can impact science funding. After receiving word last spring that Chandra was slated for termination, scientists and the public erupted in protest. Organized in part under the banner and hashtag of #SaveChandra, letters, petitions, and phone calls poured into Congress."​

​

Source: https://www.astronomy.com/science/c...acing-chopping-block-gets-reprieve-from-nasa/

 

[AlexB23]

It will get funding as long as the telescope can take data. Essentially every spacecraft does, because operating them is much cheaper than building them.

Agreed. No wonder why Voyager 1 and 2 are both running in 2024. :) I hope those probes run until 2030.

 

[AlexB23]

The original mission was about 5-10 years but....

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was designed for a mission of at least five years, with a goal of 10 years. However, after the successful launch and commissioning of the telescope, the Webb team determined that the observatory should have enough propellant to support science operations in orbit for more than 20 years.

EDIT: "An L2 orbit is unstable, so JWST needs to use propellant to maintain its halo orbit around L2 (known as station-keeping) to prevent the telescope from drifting away from its orbital position.[189] It was designed to carry enough propellant for 10 years,[190] but the precision of the Ariane 5 launch and the first midcourse correction were credited with saving enough onboard fuel that JWST may be able to maintain its orbit for around 20 years instead.[191][192][193] Space.com called the launch "flawless".[194]"

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope

which referenced.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2021/12...l-likely-to-extend-its-lifetime-expectations/

I am glad that the JWST has the capability of running for 20 years. That means the telescope could last well until the 2030s, or even 2041.

 

[pinball1970]

From Wiki “NGC 602 is a young, bright open cluster of stars located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way.

Radiation and shock waves from the stars of NGC 602 have pushed away much of the lighter surrounding gas and dust that is N90,

this in turn has triggered new star formation in the ridges”

There some Chandra images https://phys.org/news/2024-12-nasa-missions-cosmic-wreath-displaying.html

This one from Webb.

 

[pinball1970]

NGC 346 Hubble image with Webb. There is a link to a paper in the article that is open access.

https://phys.org/news/2024-12-webb-planet-disks-longer-early.html

 

[pinball1970]

HNY to JWST team

Westerlund 1 a star forming supercluster in the Milky Way 12,000 light-years from Earth.

Paper

https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/01/aa52150-24/aa52150-24.html

Article

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-stellar-pyrotechnics-display-super-star.html

 

[pinball1970]

Picture of the month from Webb, an Einstein ring of galaxy cluster named SMACSJ0028.2-7537

https://esawebb.org/images/potm2503a/

 

[Filip Larsen]

Another fantastic treat from JWST:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken the most detailed image of planetary nebula NGC 1514 to date thanks to its unique mid-infrared observations. Webb shows its rings as intricate clumps of dust. It’s also easier to see holes punched through the bright pink central region.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/with-nasas-webb-dying-stars-energetic-display-comes-into-full-focus/
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/...-james-webb-space-telescope-worth-10-billion/

 

[AlexB23]

Another fantastic treat from JWST:
View attachment 359911


https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/with-nasas-webb-dying-stars-energetic-display-comes-into-full-focus/
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/...-james-webb-space-telescope-worth-10-billion/

That nebula looks like a hamburger or a yo-yo. Beautiful stuff.

 

[DAH]

That nebula looks like a hamburger or a yo-yo. Beautiful stuff.

I was thinking an apple cut in half with the seeds in the middle.

 

[AlexB23]

I was thinking an apple cut in half with the seeds in the middle.

Yeah, it looks like that as well. Interstellar Rorschach test.

 

[pinball1970]

NASA blog: https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2024/05...ce-telescope-finds-most-distant-known-galaxy/

View attachment 346328

A pre print on this.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.11263

and article.

https://phys.org/news/2025-05-farthest-galaxy-jwst-million-years.html

 

[pinball1970]

A Webb picture of the month

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/05/Webb_glimpses_the_distant_past

"with 9 separate snapshots of different near-infrared wavelengths of light, totalling around 120 hours of observing time and aided by the magnifying effect of gravitational lensing, this is Webb’s deepest gaze on a single target to date."

 

[sbrothy]

More recent about 55 Cancri:

Renyu Hu, et. al. "A secondary atmosphere on the rocky Exoplanet 55 Cancrie", 8 May 2024 (Nature)



Abstract:

Characterizing rocky exoplanets is a central endeavor of astronomy, and yet the search for atmospheres on rocky exoplanets has hitherto resulted in either tight upper limits on the atmospheric mass ^1–3 or inconclusive results ^4–6. The 1.95-R_Earth and 8.8-M_Earth planet 55 Cnc e, with a predominantly rocky composition and an equilibrium temperature of ~2000 K, may have a volatile envelope (containing molecules made from a combination of C, H, O, N, S, and P elements) that accounts for up to a few percent of its radius ^7–13. The planet has been observed extensively with transmission spectroscopy ^14–22, and its thermal emission has been measured in broad photometric bands ^23–26. These observations disfavor a primordial H2/He-dominated atmosphere but cannot conclusively determine whether the planet has a secondary atmosphere^27,28. Here we report a thermal emission spectrum of the planet obtained by JWST’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments from 4 to 12 μm. The measurements rule out the scenario where the planet is a lava world shrouded by a tenuous atmosphere made of vaporized rock^29–32, and indicate a bona fide volatile atmosphere likely rich in CO₂ or CO. This atmosphere can be outgassed from and sustained by a magma ocean.




So, maybe lots of soda cans opened there, or lots of combustion engines? Or both?
Seriously, I think it's fascinating.

Edit: The planet in question is 55 Cancri e.

Edit 2:

And an article:

Webb discovers evidence of an atmosphere around a rocky super-Earth planet orbiting a Sun-like star
(BBC Sky At Night Magazine, by Iain Todd, May 8, 2024)

Analyzing exoplanetary atmospheres is a really exciting field. One I haven't really dug into with any diligence. (Within the rather tight limitation of my abilities that is.)

 

[pinball1970]

800,000 Galaxies from Webb.

https://cosmos2025.iap.fr/fitsmap/?ra=150.1357547&dec=2.2391371&zoom=4

An article giving some background https://phys.org/news/2025-06-largest-universe-revealing-galaxies-early.html

 

[pinball1970]

The bullet cluster is an important structure when it comes to Dark matter.

From wiki

“Composite image showing the galaxy cluster 1E 0657-56, better known as bullet cluster.
The image in background showing the visible spectrum of light stems from Magellan and Hubble Space Telescope images.
The pink overlay shows the x-ray emission (recorded by Chandra Telescope) of the colliding clusters,
the blue one represents the mass distribution of the clusters calculated from gravitational lens effects.”

CHANDRA 2006 (x ray)

JWST and Chandra below
Chandra contribution in pink/purple
A lot more what look like lensed objects in the larger circle.

 

[pinball1970]

Cigar Galaxy (M82) Image of the Month from Webb. (MIRI)

Some back ground information https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82

Some other images are in the link from Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra and another from Webb (NIRCam)

 

[pinball1970]

Three years of the JWST this week. Happy first light day Webb!

The image below is located in the Milky way, so pretty much next door w r.t. Webb's capability, Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) 4000 light years away.

Or if you prefer to zoom in.

 

[pinball1970]

Webb discovers a new moon orbiting Uranus.

Article

https://phys.org/news/2025-08-webb-moon-orbiting-uranus.html

Time lapse of the orbits

 

[pinball1970]

From Webb last week. Red Spider Nebula NGC 6537, in the constellation of Sagittarius approx. 5000 ly distant.

Red areas are dust, with Blue molecular Hydrogen (roughly speaking) but there is more detail in the paper. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae0706

For some context and previous images https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Spider_Nebula

 

[pinball1970]

I did not know what a Wolf Rayet star was, this gives some info, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf–Rayet_star

An article regarding the image below here with a 3D simulation https://phys.org/news/2025-11-webb-reveals-apep-spiraling-shells.html

Or straight to the paper here https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae12e5

 

[renormalize]

View attachment 367593

Looks like the younger version of the star child from 2001!

 

[pinball1970]

Looks like the younger version of the star child from 2001!

I see what you are saying!

 

[pinball1970]

Mid-infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (in white, grey, and red) and X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (in blue) come together in this photo of colliding spiral galaxies, NGC 2207 and IC 2163.

Some background here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2207_and_IC_2163

Hubble Space Telescope image for comparison below from 2009.