The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest, most powerful and most complex telescope ever launched into space. It is located 1 million miles away from earth, and has taken incredible images of our universe since it started operations two years ago.
Indeed, the telescope just celebrated its 2nd birthday in operation, and we’ve gathered some of the most beautiful and impressive images so far.
Jupiter
This gorgeous image of Jupiter shows its faint rings, plus a blue glow of aurora on the southern and northern poles.
Jupiter | Image credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team. Processing by Ricardo Hueso (UPV/EHU) and Judy Schmidt.
The Tarantula Nebula
The Tarantula Nebula | Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
The Pillars of Creation
The Pillars of Creation, as seen by NIRCam, are located about 6,500 light-years away. It is an amazing place for scientists to study the early lifecycle of stars. | Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI / Image processing by Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), and Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
Sagittarius C
Sagittarius C lies at the heart of our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy. | Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Samuel Crowe (UVA)
The Cosmic Cliffs
The Cosmic Cliffs (Carina Nebula) | Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Phantom Galaxy
JWST peered through dust and gas to see a star cluster at the center of M74, the Phantom Galaxy. M74 is a particular class of spiral galaxy known as a ‘grand design spiral’, meaning that its spiral arms are prominent and well-defined. NASA released this image on Aug. 29, 2022.
