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Hubble and Webb are in high demand by the worldwide scientific community.

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In 2024, researchers from around the world applied for observing time and funding to use NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. As in the past, astronomers’ requests far exceeded the time and funds available. In 2024, researchers published more than 1,000 peer-reviewed papers using Hubble data, and 760 peer-reviewed papers using Webb data.

Oversubscription Ratios

Hubble Space Telescope

Line chart shows the oversubscription ratio from cycle 1 through cycle 32 of Hubble observations. The y-axis, titled Oversubscription Ratio, ranges from 0 at the bottom to 14 at the top, labeled in even increments of 2. The x-axis, titled Hubble Cycle, ranges from 1 at the far left to 32 at the right, in even increments of 1, with an additional cycle between 7 and 8 labeled 7N. Three sets of data are plotted as solid circles connected by straight line segments. General Observer Proposal oversubscription ratios are plotted in blue. General Observer Orbits are plotted in purple. Archival Research Funding is plotted in teal. All three lines are jagged and follow the same general trends. The blue General Observer Proposal ratios range from a minimum of 2.1 (Cycle 6) to a maximum of 12.5 (Cycle 26). The purple General Observer Orbits ratios range from 3 (Cycle 6) to 12.5 (Cycle 6). The teal Archival Research Funding ratio range from 1.2 (Cycle 2, which is the first in this data set) to 10 (Cycle 6).
For more than 30 years, demand for Hubble observation time and funding has far exceeded availability. This chart shows the ratio of the number of proposals submitted to those funded, the number of Hubble orbits requested to those available, and the funds requested for archival research to the funding available.

James Webb Space Telescope

Line chart shows the oversubscription ratio from cycle 1 through cycle 4 of Webb observations. The y-axis, titled Oversubscription Ratio, ranges from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top, labeled in even increments of 2. The x-axis, titled Webb Cycle, ranges from 1 at the left to 4 at the right, in even increments of 1. Three sets of data are plotted as solid circles connected by straight line segments. General Observer Proposal oversubscription ratios are plotted in blue. General Observer Hours are plotted in purple. Archival Research Funding is plotted in teal. The oversubscription ratios are as follows. General Observer Proposals: Cycle 1, 4; Cycle 2, 6.5; Cycle 3, 9; Cycle 4, 8.6. General Observer Hours: Cycle 1, 4; Cycle 2, 7.3; Cycle 3, 8.8; Cycle 4, 8.7. Archival Research Funding: Cycle 1, 3.75; Cycle 2, 6.3, Cycle 3, 3.6; Cycle 4, 8.6.
Demand for Webb observation time and funding consistently exceeds availability. This chart shows the ratio of the number of proposals submitted to those funded, the amount of Webb observation time requested to the time available, and the funds requested for archival research to the funding available.


Distributed Grant Funds

Hubble Space Telescope

Column chart showing grant funds distributed for research with Hubble. The y-axis, titled Millions of Dollars, ranges from 0 on the bottom to 40 at the top, labeled in even increments of 5. The x-axis, titled Fiscal Year, ranges from 1989 at the far left to 2024 at the right, labeled in even increments of one year. Each data point is plotted as a vertical blue column. The values range from a minimum of $145,000 (1990) to a maximum of $38 million (2023). There is a general upward trend.
Since 1989, the institute has been responsible for distributing grant funds to support research with Hubble.

James Webb Space Telescope

Column chart showing grant funds distributed for research with Webb. The y-axis, titled Millions of Dollars, ranges from 0 on the bottom to 40 at the top, labeled in even increments of 5. The x-axis, titled Fiscal Year, ranges from 2019 at the left to 2024 at the right, labeled in even increments of one year. Each data point is plotted as a vertical blue column. The rough values are: 2019, 1 million; 2020, 700 thousand; 2021, 800 thousand; 2022, 9 million; 2023, 20 million; 2024, 37 million.
Since 2019, the institute has been responsible for distributing grant funds to support researchers using Webb data.


Peer-Reviewed Publications

Hubble Space Telescope

Stacked column chart shows the number of peer-reviewed articles based on Hubble data that are published each year since 1991. There are four sets of data plotted: articles from the Hubble General Observer (GO) program, articles based on Archival Research (AR) Programs, articles that are based partly on AR and partly on GO, and articles in which no program has been assigned. The y-axis, titled Number of Hubble Publications, ranges from 0 at the bottom to 1200 at the top, labeled in even increments of 200. The x-axis, titled Publication Year, ranges from 1991 at the far left to 2024 at the right, labeled in even increments of one year. The 4 data sets are plotted as colored column segments stacked on top of each other to form a single column for each year. From bottom to top of each column, they are General Observer in blue, Archival Research in light green, Part GO/Part AR in green, and No Program Assigned in orange. The total number of publications per year ranges from 42 in 1991 to 1072 in 2024, increasing fairly steadily over time.
Since 1991, researchers have published a total of more than 22,000 peer-reviewed articles based on Hubble data. In 2024, the number reached a record high of nearly 1,100.

James Webb Space Telescope

Stacked column chart shows the number of peer-reviewed articles based on Webb data that were published in 2022, 2023, and 2024. There are four sets of data plotted: articles from the Webb General Observer (GO) program, articles based on Archival Research (AR) Programs, articles that are based partly on AR and partly on GO, and articles in which no program has been assigned. The y-axis, titled Number of Webb Publications, ranges from 0 at the bottom to 800 at the top, labeled in even increments of 200. The x-axis, titled Publication Year, has labels for 2022, 2023, and 2024. The 4 data sets are plotted as colored column segments stacked on top of each other to form a single column for each year. From bottom to top of each column, they are General Observer in blue, Archival Research in light green, Part GO/Part AR in green, and No Program Assigned in orange. The total number of publications per year are as follows: 2022, 51; 2023, 400; 2024; 760.
Since 2022, more than 1,200 peer-reviewed articles have been published based on Webb data.

 

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