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About the Webb Exhibit

The images below have been on display at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, USA, since fall 2025, allowing all who visit to be awed by the observations of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Since July 2022, Webb has been actively observing our universe, taking both high-resolution images and data known as spectra. With its unprecedented power to detect and analyze near- and mid-infrared light, Webb is making observations that were once impossible. The telescope has already found surprisingly rich and varied atmospheres on gas giant planets orbiting distant stars, captured staggering structure in nearby spiral galaxies, and shown that the universe evolved significantly faster than we previously thought during its first billion years. These panels show some of the stunning images Webb has returned.

A field of galaxies on the black background of space. In the middle, stretching from left to right, is a collection of dozens of yellowish spiral and elliptical galaxies that form a foreground galaxy cluster. Among them are distorted linear features, which mostly appear to follow invisible concentric circles curving around the center.
Galaxy Cluster MACS 0416: Viewed by Webb and Hubble
A section of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a local star-forming region composed of gas, dust, and young stars. Two roughly circular areas are at left and right. Each circular area has a luminous blue glow. Brown-orange filaments of dust surround these blue patches. Many small, yellow-white stars are spread across the scene.
Cat’s Paw Nebula: Star-Forming Region
Two interacting galaxies. At top is NGC 2937, nicknamed the Egg. Its center is brighter and whiter. Below it is NGC 2936, nicknamed the Penguin. Its beak-like region points to the top, toward the Egg. The Penguin’s distorted arms form the bird’s beak, back, and tail. A semi-transparent blue hue traces the Penguin and creates a sideways U over both galaxies. The black background of space is filled with tiny distant galaxies.
Interacting Galaxies: The Penguin and The Egg
Text overlay at left reads: Revealing How Stars Form. At right, a Webb image of red dual opposing jets coming from young stars fill the darker top half. A glowing pale-yellow cave-like structure is at bottom with a bright star at its center. The background of space is black.
Star-Forming Region: Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex
Text overlay at top reads: Discovering the First Galaxies. Thousands of small galaxies are scattered on the black background of space. Some are noticeably spirals, either face-on or edge-on, while others are blobby ellipticals. Many are too small to discern structure. A few spirals are bluish, but most of the galaxies appear yellow or red. A handful of stars display eight-point diffraction spikes. The background is black.
Deep Field of Extremely Distant Galaxies: JADES Program
Tan-colored 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 background is black.
Tarantula Nebula: Massive Stars Surrounded by Gas and Dust
Twisted pink and orange filaments lie against the black background of space, which is speckled with tiny white and pink stars.
Star Cluster NGC 346
A pair of interacting galaxies. The larger of the two galaxies is slightly right of center, and composed of a hazy, bright white center and a ring of gaseous filaments, which are shades of red and orange. To the left of this galaxy is a smaller elliptical galaxy, which has diffuse light blue gas wafting outward. Many distant galaxies are spread throughout the black background of space.
Interacting Galaxies Arp 107
Colorful group of four galaxies. Each has a slightly different size, shape, structure, and coloring, and all have a bright core. Hundreds of background galaxies and numerous foreground stars are in the background, which is black.
Interacting Galaxies: Stephan’s Quintet
Text overlay at left reads: Where Stars Form. Webb image shows a young star-forming region that is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. The center is filled with mostly blue gas. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field.
Serpens Nebula: Star-Forming Region
Text overlay at right reads: Studying the Life Cycle of Stars. A portion of Cassiopeia A, a circular-shaped cloud of gas and dust with complex structure on a black background. The inner shell is made of bright pink and orange filaments studded with clumps and knots. Around the exterior of the inner shell, there are curtains of wispy gas that look like campfire smoke.
Supernova Remnant: Cassiopeia A
A crowded galaxy field on a black background, with one large star dominating at top right. There are areas concentrated with larger white hazy blobs. Scattered between these areas are many smaller sources of light; some also have a hazy white glow. Different galaxy shapes are detectable, like spirals, ovals, and arcs.
Pandora’s Cluster: Multiple Galaxy Clusters
At the center is a thin horizontal orange cloud tilted from bottom left to top right. It takes up about two-thirds of the length. At its center is red-and-pink star with prominent diffraction spikes. The black background is filled with tiny, distant stars and galaxies.
Pair of Forming Stars Launching Jets: Herbig-Haro 46/47
Hundreds of small galaxies against the black background of space. Several white spiral galaxies are near the center. Most of the galaxies are various shades of orange and red, and many are too tiny to discern a shape.
Some of the Most Distant Galaxies Ever Observed: CEERS Survey
Two observations of a galaxy split diagonally. The galaxy is an oblong disk that extends from left to right at an angle. In the near-infrared image at left, the galaxy’s center glows white and extends above and below the disk. The outer edge of the disk is mottled brown clumps. In the mid-infrared image at right, the galaxy is light blue and clumpy. There is an inner disk that is clearer, with stars scattered throughout. The background of space is black.
Spiral Galaxy Seen Edge-On: The Sombrero Galaxy in Near-Infrared Light (left side) and Mid-Infrared Light (right side)
Text overlay at top reads: New Views of Our Solar System. Four planets on a black background. From left to right: Jupiter is striated with swirling horizontal stripes of green, blue, light pink, and cream. Saturn is a dark orange-brown sphere surrounded by blazing bright, thick, white rings. Uranus is blue within a system of nested rings. Neptune appears as a glowing, mostly white sphere. To Neptune’s top left is one of its moons, Triton, which has prominent diffraction spikes.
Left to Right: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
A dense orange-brown undulating cloudscape is at the bottom. At the top is a deep blue region. Bright stars with diffraction spikes are scattered across the view in a range of sizes.
Star-Forming Region in the Carina Nebula: The Cosmic Cliffs
Two images of the Pillars of Creation, both showing three prominent pillars rising toward the top right. At left, in near-infrared light: The pillars are semi-opaque brown and the background is shades of blue. The view is speckled with stars. At right, in mid-infrared light: The pillars appear teal and dark gray, and the background is shades of red. There are very few stars.
Eagle Nebula in Near-Infrared Light (left) and Mid-Infrared Light (right)
wasp-39-b.jpg
Atmosphere of Hot Gas Giant Planet WASP-39 b (data known as a spectrum)
Text from left to right reads: Rocky World, Super Earth, Sub Neptune, Gas Giant. Illustrations show a crisp rocky, gray planet; a purple planet with clouds; a fuzzy blue planet; and a fuzzy red planet. All four planets appear to be lit from the left, with their right sides in shadow.
Artist Concepts of Distant Worlds Revealed by Webb (illustrations not to scale): Read Related Press Releases
Three face-on spiral galaxies: NGC 1566, NGC 4254, and NGC 3627. All show orange spiral arms with prominent dark gray or black “bubbles” and a blue haze surrounding the core.
Staggering Structure in Nearby Spiral Galaxies: PHANGS Program
Three face-on barred spiral galaxies: NGC 3351, NGC 1300, and NGC 5068. All show orange spiral arms with prominent dark gray or black “bubbles” and a blue haze surrounding the core.
Staggering Structure in Nearby Spiral Galaxies: PHANGS Program
Two face-on spiral galaxies take up almost the entire view and appear to be overlapping. The galaxy at left, IC 2163, is smaller and more compact than the galaxy at right, NGC 2207. Their arms are a mix of pinks and blues. The black background of space is dotted with foreground stars and distant galaxies.
Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207: Viewed by Webb and Hubble
Text overlay at left reads: Tracing Cosmic Chemistry. The foreground contains blue translucent wisps from bottom left through the center before going toward the top. On the right, are bright orange points of light, which are stars. The stars have orange eight-pointed diffraction spikes.
Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud
Text overlay at left reads: Revealing the Early Universe. A black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, in white, yellow, orange, and red. Some galaxies are distorted, appearing to be stretched out or mirror imaged. There are two long, red arcs that appear horizontally at center. Above them is a cluster of white galaxies that look like a glowing orb.
Galaxy Cluster PLCK G165 : Gravity Bends Light of Distant Galaxies
Closeup of a nebula. The center glows brightly in blues. That is surrounded by curtains of glowing orange fluffy material. There are large-scale loops of mottled filaments of yellow-white studded with clumps and knots throughout. The background, seen at top left and bottom right, is black.
Crab Nebula: Supernova Remnant
From left to right: The Southern Ring Nebula is a glowing red cloud with a distorted ring-like shape, illuminated from within by a bright central star with a bluer inner cavity. NGC 6072 is a mostly red glowing cloud with a distorted, asymmetrical shape illuminated by a bright central star. The Ring Nebula looks like a distorted doughnut. Its inner cavity is blue and green, and it becomes orange and pink at the edges.
Dying Stars Southern Ring Nebula, NGC 6072, and the Ring Nebula
A field of galaxies dominated by an enormous, bright-white elliptical galaxy at center. Around it are short, curved, glowing red lines. A couple of foreground stars appear large and bright with long spikes around them. The background of space is black.
Galaxy Cluster Abell S1063: Gravity Bends Light of Distant Galaxies

Mission Resources

James Webb Telescope seen from its right (or starboard) side. This view shows part of the bottom of the telescope’s multi-layered sunshield, its primary mirror from an angle, and its mirror support struts. It appears against a background full of stars, gas, and dust that are in shades of gold. The words Coast Through the Cosmos appear at top right, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope at bottom right.

Peer Deeper into Space

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is part of a fleet of space-based observatories: Read Webb’s news releases along with those from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Also learn about the upcoming science of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will deliver panoramic images of the universe.

Learn about Other Missions