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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Mission Operations Center for NASA's Webb Space Telescope (#NASAWebb). Also operating

@HubbleTelescope

and upcoming

@NASARoman

Science & TechnologyBaltimore, MDstsci.edu/communications…Joined June 2008

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Join Joseph DePasquale and Alyssa Pagan—STScI science visuals developers—for a presentation on processing the first #NASAWebb images on October 7 in New York City! After the talk, enjoy the art exhibition "Unfolding the Universe: First Light." Register: bit.ly/3DYYJEe

Space Telescope Science Institute Retweeted

Hubble Space Telescope

@HubbleTelescope

22h

An agreement to conduct a study of a commercial mission to boost #Hubble’s orbit and extend its operations was signed today. Engineering analyses indicate that Hubble science operations should continue through most of the 2020s, and perhaps beyond: go.nasa.gov/3SqVCJn

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Space Telescope Science Institute Retweeted

Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 29

#NASAWebb and

@HubbleTelescope

observed the #DARTmission impact on an asteroid earlier this week, and marking the first time the telescopes made simultaneous observations of the same target! Check out this unprecedented view and watch it in motion: bit.ly/3xYUy7y

$On a black background, a bright red spot appears on the top right edge, with only 5 diffraction spikes shown on its top, bottom and left side. It shows the moment the asteroid is impacted by the spacecraft, with wisps of material stream away to lower left.$

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On a black background, a bright blue spot that is the asteroid is at center. A smoke-like feature is emitting from the blue spot on the left side, as the asteroid is impacted by the spacecraft.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 29

The

@NASARoman

is like a detective whose work will answer many questions, but spawn even more! Its pioneering discoveries will lead to a whole new set of questions to be answered by the next generations of telescopes! #RomanScience

To the bottom left of this illustration appear a man and a woman seen from behind. They are looking into an abstract representation of a tunnel or corridor, which is lined with elongated rectangles of varying shades of tan and brown. Most of these rectangles are arranged in a ray-like configuration. At the far end of the tunnel or corridor, in the center, is a light blue galaxy with many spiral arms and a yellowish central bulge. At the top right of the image is an illustration of the Roman telescope. Credit: J. Kang/STScI.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 29

Learn more about this “unprecedented view of an unprecedented event”: hubblesite.org/contents/news- #UnfoldTheUniverse #DARTMission

hubblesite.org

Webb, Hubble Capture Detailed Views of DART Impact

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 29

#Hubble’s visible light images of the impact on asteroid Dimorphos reveal ejecta from the impact as rays stretching out from the body of the asteroid. #DARTMission

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 29

#NASAWebb near-infrared images show a tight, compact core, with plumes of material appearing as wisps streaming away from the location of impact on asteroid Dimorphos. #DARTMission

$On a black background, a bright red spot appears on the top right edge, with only 5 diffraction spikes shown on its top, bottom and left side. The spot appears to get larger with many spikes of light emitting from it, as the asteroid is impacted by the spacecraft. Afterward, wisps of material stream away to lower left.$

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 29

#NASAWebb and

@HubbleTelescope

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 27

These two images are the same spiral galaxy: IC 5332. The first, where you can see separated spiral arms, was taken by

@HubbleTelescope

. The next is from #NASAWebb in mid-infrared—and shows “tangled” spiral arms. Compare the views: esawebb.org/images/compari

A galaxy facing us head-on. The center is orange, and spiral arms filled with blue stars, dark gas, red spots and faded orange lines pull away from the center counter-clockwise.

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On a black background is a web-like structure that appears to be spinning counter-clockwise, like a skeleton of a spiral galaxy. The web filaments are filled with strands of white, gray, red and blue while the center is a ghostly gray and nearly see-through. Red spots are scattered around the filaments.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 28

Mad Science is hosting a free online #NASAWebb event for kids on Saturday, October 1, at 12 p.m. ET—with special guest Dr.

@astroquyen

, an astrophysicist and Senior Education and Outreach Scientist at STScI! Learn more and register today: bit.ly/3dHqxlP

Webb of Wonder: Learning about colliding galaxies with the Webb Space Telescope A FREE, LIVE ONLINE EVENT in collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Join us and special guest, Dr. Quyen N. Hart, an Astrophysicist and Senior Education and Outreach Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute.

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Space Telescope Science Institute Retweeted

American Council of the Blind

@acbnational

Sep 28

Join ACB on 9/29 at 4pm ET on Facebook, YouTube, & ACB Media 6, as we meet with representatives from

@SpaceTelescope

who will discuss the process for making the stunningly beautiful images from

@NASAWebb

accessible, and the importance of making space accessible for all.

How Alt Text Can Tell the Story of Space. ACB Event on September 29th at 4pm ET. Learn How the Space Telescope Science Institute is Making Images Captured by the James Webb Space Telescope Accessible. The Southern Ring Nebula taken by Webb Space Telescope: Colorful image of the of near-infrared light from a glowing cloud with a distorted ring-like shape, illuminated from within by a bright central star.

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Space Telescope Science Institute Retweeted

Hubble Space Telescope

@HubbleTelescope

Sep 28

How can a pair of dwarf galaxies survive the gravitational pull of a massive neighbor? A pervasive shield of supercharged gas should do the trick! Hubble’s UV vision, along with the probing power of distant quasars, reveals the elusive Magellanic Corona: bit.ly/3xXe9oC

Illustration showing Milky Way, Small Magellanic Cloud, and Large Magellanic Cloud from afar, with three bright quasars. The Milky Way galaxy appears as edge-on disk with bright central bulge. Halfway between bulge and right edge of disk is the Sun. Surrounding the Milky Way is a semi-transparent cloud of blue labeled “Milky Way Corona,” fading with distance. Toward bottom right is a smear of light with two bright cores, one labeled “Large Magellanic Cloud” and other “Small Magellanic Cloud.” An elliptical, semi-transparent cloud of purple labeled “Magellanic Corona” surrounds Magellanic Clouds, fading with distance. Farther toward bottom right, past Magellanic Corona, are three bright white points labeled “Quasars.” Projecting from each quasar is a white line with arrows pointing toward the Sun. The lines pass through both coronas, becoming thinner and more transparent with distance away from the quasar. Each beam passes through a different part of the Magellanic Corona.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 27

Watch as Alyssa Pagan, science visualization developer at STScI, shows us how she created the breathtaking Carina Nebula image from #NASAWebb data! The tutorial may help you process your own Webb images!

youtube.com

How NASA created Webb's image of the Carina Nebula with Alyssa Pagan

Head to https://squarespace.com/launchpadastronomy to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code launchpadastronomy.Webb Imaging Mast...

Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 27

These two images are the same spiral galaxy: IC 5332. The first, where you can see separated spiral arms, was taken by

@HubbleTelescope

. The next is from #NASAWebb in mid-infrared—and shows “tangled” spiral arms. Compare the views: esawebb.org/images/compari

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 26

How much gold is #NASAWebb made of? Answer: Just over 48 grams of gold, about the same amount in just five large wedding rings. The gold layer on Webb’s 18-panel mirror is only 100 nanometers thick, about the size of a large virus particle. Credit: NASA.

The golden mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope stands in a clean room, facing slightly to the right. The lights of the room are reflecting off the 18 panels that make the hexagon-shaped mirror.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 23

Watch the exaggerated effects of gravitational waves on Earth, as the planet is squeezed and stretched. These waves are caused by some of the most violent and energetic events in the universe—such as colliding black holes.

youtube.com

Exaggerated Effects of Gravitational Waves on Earth

Gravitational waves stretch and squeeze the fabric of space and time on very minuscule scales; visually exaggerating these effects reveals how Earth is squee...

Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 22

We see #InstagramDown trending! Good thing we know a place where you can browse through #NASAWebb's beautiful images (and download as many as you want!) 👉 webbtelescope.pub/3qZE4bh

Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 22

The

@NASARoman

is a cosmic detective who gathers enormous amounts of clues! It will transmit almost 1,400 gigabytes of information to the ground each day. In five years, Roman will deliver a treasure trove of 20,000 terabytes! #RomanScience

At the top left of the image, on a star field depicting space, is an illustration of the Hubble telescope. To the telescope’s right are two, stacked red boxes representing data. Beneath those boxes, with a line pointing to them, is the label “2.7 gigabytes per day.” At the bottom left is an illustration of the Webb telescope. To its left and slightly above it are 48 stacked turquoise boxes. To the right of the boxes and slightly above the Webb image is the label “58 gigabytes per day.” On the right side of the image is a drawing of the Roman telescope. To its left are 452 stacked light-green boxes. Above the boxes is the label “1,375 gigabytes per day.” Credit: J. Kang/STScI.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 22

Have you “met” #NASAWebb’s microshutter array? It has >248,000 tiny doors that can be individually opened to observe distant galaxies and stars simultaneously! How do scientists analyze that light to see when the galaxy formed? Find out: webbtelescope.pub/3dOF9ze

A graphic titled “Galaxy Cluster SMACS 0723, Webb Spectra Identify Galaxies in the Very Early Universe; NIRCam Imaging and NIRSpec Microshutter Array Spectroscopy.” The infographic shows the redshift of four distant galaxies. At left is a NIRCam image of the field, which is filled with galaxies of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Four galaxies from this image are highlighted, and labeled: 11.3 billion years, 12.6 billion years, 13.0 billion years, 13.1 billion years to indicate when the observed light was emitted. In inset images, these galaxies appear blurry and have red areas. To the right are four line graphs corresponding to the four highlighted galaxies. These are labeled NIRSpec Microshutter Array Spectroscopy. They show the shift in the position of hydrogen and oxygen emission lines to longer wavelengths as age of the light increases.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

Covered in a frozen sheen of condensed nitrogen, Triton reflects an average of 70% of the sunlight that hits it. It far outshines Neptune in this image because the planet’s atmosphere is darkened by methane absorption at these wavelengths. (8/8) #NASAWebb

webbtelescope.org

New Webb Image Captures Clearest View of Neptune’s Rings in Decades

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

Webb also captured seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons. Dominating this portrait of Neptune is a very bright point of light sporting the diffraction spikes seen in many of Webb’s images, but this is not a star. Rather, this is Neptune’s large and unusual moon, Triton. (7/8)

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

A thin line of brightness circling Neptune’s equator could be a signature of global atmospheric circulation that powers its winds and storms. The atmosphere descends and warms at the equator, and thus glows at infrared wavelengths more than the surrounding, cooler gases. (6/8)

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

Neptune has fascinated us since its discovery in 1846. Located 30x farther from the Sun than Earth, Neptune orbits in the remote part of the outer solar system. At that distance, the Sun is so small and faint that high noon on Neptune is similar to a dim twilight on Earth. (5/8)

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

“It has been three decades since we last saw those faint, dusty bands, and this is the first time we’ve seen them in the infrared,” notes

@hbhammel

, a Neptune system expert and interdisciplinary scientist for Webb. (4/8)

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

Most striking in the new image is the crisp view of the planet’s rings—some of which have not been detected since NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe Neptune during its flyby in 1989. (3/8)

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

Not only has Webb captured the clearest view of this distant planet’s rings in more than 30 years, but its cameras reveal the ice giant in a whole new light, teasing out details of its mysterious storms. (2/8)

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

#Neptune lurks in one of the dimmest parts of our solar system. With its complex rings, bizarre moon, Triton, and roaring winds faster than the speed of sound here on Earth, Neptune has long perplexed astronomers. Then along came #NASAWebb. #UnfoldTheUniverse (1/8)

Image titled “Neptune Close Up NIRCam.” Image has a mostly dark background with one extremely bright point of light that dominates the upper left quadrant of the image and a glowing sphere towards the bottom middle of the image. The extremely bright point of light at the upper left of the image has 8 spikes pointing out from a center bright point like a compass. The glowing sphere is mostly white, almost neon, with a few extremely bright patches representing methane-ice clouds. The glowing sphere is accompanied by several narrow, faint rings and 6 tiny white dots, which are Neptune's moons. Splattered throughout the mostly black background are about 10 small, dim, blurry circles which are distant galaxies.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 21

In #NASAWebb’s first look at Neptune, we’re seeing the clearest view of the planet’s rings in decades. 💍 Learn more about what scientists see in this image of Neptune, including why it’s not the trademark blue: webbtelescope.pub/3QXXJTF

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Space Telescope Science Institute Retweeted

NASA Webb Telescope

@NASAWebb

Sep 20

Free Webb event for kids! 👇 On Oct. 1 at noon ET, kids ages 5-12 can participate in a hands-on galaxy activity, ask Webb

@SpaceTelescope

expert Dr. Quyen Hart their questions, learn cool galaxy facts and more. Register now: bit.ly/3BR5RRv

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 20

The same region of the Tarantula Nebula takes on two very different looks depending on which #NASAWebb instrument is used: the Near-Infrared Camera (left) or Mid-Infrared Instrument (right). Discover what each reveals and conceals: webbtelescope.pub/3eVyXWJ

Two nebula images side by side with the same basic shapes and structures but different coloring and details. Image on left has tan clouds with rust-colored highlights, surrounding a black central area containing a bright cluster of sparkling pale blue stars that scatter outward from a densely packed center. One bright yellow star stands out in the central open area, with eight long thin points.

The image on the right has clouds in the same basic formation but brighter and thinner. Areas are highlighted with bright blue, purple and ghostly pink. The bright cluster of stars is noticeably absent, with only a few blue specs remaining. One clump of cloud stands out bright blue in the cluster area- in the left-hand image it is less noticeable in the midst of the bright stars as a rust-colored cloud. The one star alone in the open area still stands out, but it appears small and blue, with its eight star points very small instead of elongated like in the left-hand image.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 19

Johns Hopkins University will host a live virtual briefing about #NASAWebb and its science mission—with experts from the Space Telescope Science Institute. The briefing will take place on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at noon. Please register in advance.

hub.jhu.edu

The Johns Hopkins Briefing

Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 19

#NASAWebb obtained images and spectra of the Red Planet, capturing both reflected sunlight and thermal emission. The Mars team is excited to dive into the data to explore regional differences across the planet and search for trace gases in the atmosphere: webbtelescope.pub/3ePwlJT

Graphic titled "Mars: James Webb Space Telescope, NIRCam, September 5, 2022” with 3 images of Mars' eastern hemisphere: map at left, 2.1-micron NIRCam image at top right, larger 4.3-micron image at bottom right. Reference map of full eastern hemisphere centered at 80 E with eastern portion in shadow. Syrtis Major, Huygens Crater, Hellas Basin labeled. 2 square outlines show fields of view of images on right. Top Right: Sepia-toned map of 2.1-micron light. Scale bar indicates dark brown is least reflective; light orange most reflective. Brightness similar to map: Syrtis Major dark; Hellas Basin bright; Huygens Crater bright between rings. Bottom Right: Colorful map of 4.3-micron light over most of eastern hemisphere. Scale bar indicates that brightness increases from black to blue, red, orange, and yellow. Brightness corresponds to season and time of day with brightest region labeled Subsolar point. Exception is darker orange Hellas Basin within brighter yellow subsolar region.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 16

This image, taken by #NASAWebb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument, shows the “spokes” that give the Cartwheel Galaxy its name! Explore the details of Webb’s observation of this interacting galaxy: webbtelescope.pub/3ORLwij #UnfoldTheUniverse

$Three interacting galaxies caught within each other’s gravity. The rightmost, the largest, resembles a wheel with a central hub and spokes. It contains a large, oval outer ring, and a small, off-center oval ring. The outer ring contains navy blue and yellow dots, which are pockets of young stars and energized silicate dust. The bottom right of the outer ring shows a large bright star producing Webb’s eight-pronged diffraction pattern in yellow. The space between the two rings shows navy trails of gas leading to the center. The center of galaxy glows white. The two galaxies on the left are around the same size, but smaller than the rightmost galaxy. The galaxy to the top left has many of the same features as the largest galaxy, but its shape is far more disturbed with no distinct rings. The last galaxy, below the top left galaxy, glows light blue. The background shows galaxies of blue (the closest), and green and red (the farthest).$

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 15

Like a detective who shares clues,

@NASARoman

will provide open access to its data for scientists everywhere—when and where they want it! Roman will address very specific questions, but its data can also provide clues to other mysteries. #RomanScience

At the center is a woman with hands raised to shoulder height and a monitor in front of her. Behind her is a wallpaper-like field of turquoise 1s and 0s arranged vertically on a navy background. In the foreground are nine semi-transparent boxes of varying sizes and colors. The large box at the top left contains five darker orange stars of different sizes. Beneath it is a smaller, turquoise box with a spiral galaxy surrounded by small orbs. Underneath is a very small, empty turquoise box. To its left is a medium-sized, blue box containing a star with two orbiting planets. To the right of the woman is a small, empty blue box toward the top of the illustration. To its right is a larger orange box with a horizontal graph with three bars. Underneath that is turquoise box with a vertical bar graph. Beneath and to the right is turquoise box with a graph with an orange line plotted. Superimposed over the woman is a turquoise box with a darker turquoise rectangle inside. Credit: J. Kang/STScI.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 14

In the universe’s history, “cosmic noon” marks a time when most galaxies underwent a growth spurt. By combining a gigantic field of view and studying the spectrum of every object within,

@NASARoman

will bring new insights into this era: bit.ly/RomanCosmicNoon

A portion of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field containing hundreds of galaxies of different colors, shapes, and sizes with dark space in between. Four spiral galaxies, labeled 1 through 4, are called out with white boxes. Galaxy 1 is located in the upper left portion of the image. Galaxies 2, 3, and 4 are close to each other in the lower left portion of the image. On top of the right side of the image are four large rectangular boxes, labeled with numbers 1 to 4 to correspond to the galaxies. Within each box, a magnified image of the galaxy is shown on the left side.

The galaxies are labeled: 1. GS3-40891, 2. GS4-30760, 3. GS4-29845, 4. GS4-29048. All four galaxies have bright cores and distinct spiral arms. The first galaxy is round and relatively compact, and seen face-on. The second galaxy is slightly oblong due to our observation angle. The third galaxy is face-on and has longer spiral structures that reach out from the core. The fourth galaxy is very compact.

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 13

Did you miss this week’s public lecture? Learn about astronomers are pushing the limits of current observatories (including #NASAWebb) to hunt for the first initial galaxies—with Dr.

@grobertsborsani

of UCLA.

youtube.com

First Light: Hunting for Galaxies at the Dawn of Cosmic Time

Guido Roberts-Borsani, UCLAThe emergence of the first galaxies some 13.5 billion years ago had a profound effect on the state of the universe. It marks the e...

Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 13

Hear from STScI science writers: "When I think about people listening to the ALT text … I want it to be like listening to a book where you imagine the scene, all the characters in the scene." #NASAWebb

scientificamerican.com

Listen to Images from the James Webb Space Telescope

It turns out that making new views of the Universe accessible to those with vision impairment has required some deep thought–and carefully chosen words.

Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 12

How it's made: Science visuals developer Joe DePasquale discusses processing the most recent #NASAWebb image release of the complex star-forming region known as 30 Doradus: webbtelescope.pub/3U6Dtlw #UnfoldTheUniverse

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Space Telescope Science Institute

@SpaceTelescope

Sep 12

How is a telescope like a time machine? Even traveling at 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km per second), it can take light from a nearby galaxy millions of years to reach us. As a result, we see that galaxy as it appeared in the past. Learn more: webbtelescope.pub/3e0mPn1

A portion of the Andromeda galaxy fills the image. Very bright, densely packed stars appear at bottom left, and radiate out in shades of yellow toward the right, through about a third of the image. Moving out from this central galactic bulge, the panorama shows lanes of stars and dust that become sparser toward the right of the frame. Large groups of young blue stars dot the scene along with dark, reddish irregular lines that trace dust structures.

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