Announcements

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has announced that their 2024 Group Achievement Award in Astronomy has been awarded to the team responsible for the design and build of Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI). MIRI was developed by a large international consortium, comprising many institutes in ten European countries and the United States, in partnership with ESA and NASA, and led by Professor Gillian Wright of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre and Professor George Rieke of the University of Arizona. Taking advantage of Webb’s large and cold aperture, MIRI provides Webb’s unique view of the Universe at mid-infrared wavelengths. The instrument is very versatile, providing imaging, spectroscopy and coronography, with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution, between 5 and 28 microns. The instrument is the product of more than two decades of development, which involved innovative technologies, and many engineering and managerial challenges. Following the launch of Webb in December 2021, the performance …

To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and the completion of the first year of science operations with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar for 2024 that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions. The 2024 calendar features a selection of images from Press Releases (from Hubble and Webb), Hubble Pictures of the Week and Webb Pictures of the Month published throughout 2023. These include imagery of planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more. It can now be accessed electronically for anyone to print, share and enjoy (please see the links provided below). The images featured in the calendar are as follows: Cover: The subject of the first anniversary image from the James Webb Space Telescope is the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth. Jets bursting from young stars crisscross the image, …

A special Announcement of Opportunity (AO) is soliciting the participation of the European community in the role of ESA-appointed representatives to the NASA Great Observatory Maturation Program’s (GOMAP) Science, Technology, Architecture Review Team (START) for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission. The 2020 National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro2020) recommended a "Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation Program" as its highest priority in Enabling Programs for Space. Astro2020 further recommended that the first mission to enter the maturation program be an infrared-optical-ultraviolet (IR/Optical/UV) space telescope. In response to these recommendations, NASA has established the Great Observatory Maturation Program (GOMAP). Consistent with the guidance from Astro2020, the first entrant into GOMAP will be the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), a space-based IR/Optical/UV telescope. As part of GOMAP, NASA will form and coordinate a series of groups whose collective activities will perform and document analyses that advance HWO's …

- By Chris Evans, Mark McCaughrean, Sandor Kruk, and Sam Pearson - New images of the Orion Nebula from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have been included in ESA’s ESASky application, which has a user-friendly interface to visualise and download astronomical data. One of the brightest nebulae in the night sky is Messier 42, the Orion Nebula, located south of Orion’s belt. At its core is the young Trapezium Cluster of stars, the most massive of which illuminate the surrounding gas and dust with their intense ultraviolet radiation fields, while protostars continue to form today in the OMC-1 molecular cloud behind. The nebula is a treasure trove for astronomers studying the formation and early evolution of stars, with a rich diversity of phenomena and objects, including: outflows and planet-forming disks around young stars; embedded protostars; brown dwarfs; free-floating planetary mass objects; and photodissociation regions – the interface regions where …

To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and the first year of operations with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions for 2023. The 2023 calendar features a selection of images from Press Releases (from Hubble and Webb), Hubble Pictures of the Week and Webb Pictures of the Month published throughout 2022. These include imagery of planets, star clusters, galaxies, and more. It can now be accessed electronically for anyone to print, share and enjoy (please see the links provided below). The images featured in the calendar are as follows: Cover: This landscape of mountains and valleys speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope, …

A team of experts, including scientists and musicians, has created a new way to explore the images and data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The first two tracks map the prismatic landscapes of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula as well as two views of the Southern Ring Nebula. A third track plays the notes of a transmission spectrum, which graphs the atmospheric characteristics of hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b. All allow listeners to pick out key features and experience the data in a new way. There’s a new, immersive way to explore some of the first full-colour infrared images and data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope — through sound. Listeners can enter the complex soundscape of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula, explore the contrasting tones of two images that depict the Southern Ring Nebula, and identify the individual data points in …

The international NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has delivered the deepest, sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe so far. U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled the image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, during a White House event on Monday 11 July. “Webb's First Deep Field is not only the first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope, it’s the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe, so far. This image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. It’s just a tiny sliver of the vast universe," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This mission was made possible by human ingenuity – the incredible NASA Webb team and our international partners at the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Webb is just the start of what we can accomplish in the …

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will soon reveal unprecedented and detailed views of the universe, with the upcoming release of its first full-color images and spectroscopic data . Below is the list of cosmic objects that Webb targeted for these first observations, which will be released in NASA’s live broadcast beginning at 16:30 CEST Tuesday 12 July. Each image will simultaneously be made available on social media as well on esawebb.org. These listed targets below represent the first wave of full-color scientific images and spectra the observatory has gathered, and the official beginning of Webb’s general science operations. They were selected by an international committee of representatives from NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Carina Nebula: The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars …

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will release its first full-colour images and spectroscopic data on 12 July 2022. As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb has been going through a six-month period of preparation before it can begin science work, calibrating its instruments to its space environment and aligning its mirrors. This top-secret and highly anticipated collection of images and spectra are intended to be shared widely around the world. To help celebrate this important release, ESA/Webb invited proposals from organisations, institutions, and groups across Europe to maximise the reach and impact of these products with special events in their communities. All of the participating organisations are listed below: Belgium Bender / Fablab Klein-Brabant and CC Binder Public Observatory Urania Czech Republic Hvězdárna a Planetárium Brno Cyprus Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) / IAU International Astronomy Education Centre, OAE Centre Cyprus (event website) Denmark …

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will release its first full-colour images and spectroscopic data on 12 July 2022. As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb has been going through a six-month period of preparation before it can begin science work, calibrating its instruments to its space environment and aligning its mirrors. This careful process, not to mention years of new technology development and mission planning, has built up to the first images and data: a demonstration of Webb at its full power, ready to begin its science mission and unfold the infrared universe. Behind the Scenes: Creating Webb’s First Images Deciding what Webb should look at first has been a project more than five years in the making, undertaken by an international partnership between NASA, ESA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, home to Webb’s science and …

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Observations (ERO) will be among the first spectacular images and spectra taken following the commissioning of the observatory. This release will represent Webb’s debut to the world by showcasing the observatory’s capabilities and is intended to have immediate and dramatic appeal for a broad audience. This top-secret and highly anticipated collection of images and spectra are intended to be shared widely around the world. To help celebrate this important release, ESA/Webb is inviting proposals from organisations, institutions, and groups across Europe to maximize the reach and impact of these products with special events. These products will be provided in digital format and we welcome creative and innovative ideas for how these images and spectra can be shared with the greater public across Europe. In order to submit an application, the applicant (on behalf of the associated group or institution) must agree …

As the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is going through commissioning and preparing to deliver awe-inspiring images and spectra, we invite you to follow the journey via ESA’s social media accounts. Be the first to find out about the commissioning steps, discover the first images and spectra to be released around July 2022 and, once Webb enters regular science observations, learn about its spectacular findings and what answers it brings to humanity’s outstanding questions about the Universe. We encourage you to follow the ESA social media accounts for the James Webb Space Telescope to also discover how European scientists and engineers are contributing to this mission, which is a collaboration between NASA, ESA and CSA. Pick your favourite channels from the list below. Facebook — for up to date information and images from Webb. Twitter — for insightful threads and exclusive Q&A’s with scientists and engineers involved in Webb operations …

ESA/Webb is excited to launch its new video series entitled Space Sparks. These short videos will highlight and explain news and images from the James Webb Space Telescope, future missions, and general astronomical topics. The new Space Sparks series will be a continuation of the popular ESA/Hubble Hubblecast and Space Sparks series, which collectively total nearly 150 episodes. These freely available videos are an informative and educative resource for students, parents, educators, communicators, and the general public alike! We invite you to watch the first episodes of ESA/Webb Space Sparks. Episode 1 features Webb’s science goals and Episode 2 provides an overview of the European contributions to the mission. All Space Sparks videos will be offered for download in several formats. For more information on the use and sharing of ESA/Webb videos, including Space Sparks episodes, please see our copyright policy. If you have an idea for a topic that …