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  1. NASA’s Webb Reveals Black Hole That Formed Before Its Galaxy

    May 27, 2026Release ID: 2026-110 Missions: Webb

    The first direct mass measurement from the early universe weighs in on the debate over the origins of supermassive black holes.

    Space telescope image showing hundreds of bright objects of different size, color, and shape on the black background of space. Colors range from white to deep red. Shapes include elliptical, spiral, dot-like, dash-like, and arcuate. Many of the large objects near the center of the image are fuzzy white, with bright white cores. Many smaller objects scattered throughout the image are pink to red. Three objects in the central part of the image are called out with small white boxes: A box labeled “C” at about 12 o’clock; one labeled “B” at 3 o’clock; and a box labeled “A” at 4 o’clock. Images of the three objects are enlarged in boxes running vertically along the right. From top to bottom these are labeled QSO1A, QSO1B, and QSO1C. At the center of each box is a tiny, circular red dot. QSO1A (top) is notably larger, brighter, and clearer than the other two. QSO1B, in the middle, is smallest and fuzziest, and is somewhat washed out by the light of a larger white object next to it.

  2. NASA Webb Pushes Boundaries of Observable Universe Closer to Big Bang

    January 28, 2026Release ID: 2026-107 Missions: Webb

    In addition to setting a new distance record, galaxy MoM-z14 joins an emerging population of galaxies that are unexpectedly bright, compact, and chemically enriched.

    A wide field of view showing deep space, dotted with many small galaxies and a few foreground stars that display six diffraction spikes. One galaxy is highlighted with a magnified image in a graphic pull-out box in the lower right corner. The galaxy is labeled MoM-z14 and appears as a blurry yellow blob with a small red area at its top.

  3. Scientists Identify 'Astronomy’s Platypus' with NASA’s Webb Telescope

    January 06, 2026Release ID: 2026-101 Missions: Webb

    A small sample of galaxies discovered in Webb’s archive exhibit a previously unseen combination of features that hint at a possible new population of galaxies.

    James Webb Space Telescope image showing a broad area of space with many small galaxies, four of which are highlighted in pull-out boxes. The four highlighted galaxies are very small, appearing as points of light. Black areas of the overall image indicate where the telescope did not collect data – a vertical section in the center and a square in the lower left corner.

  4. NASA’s Webb Identifies Earliest Supernova to Date, Shows Host Galaxy

    December 09, 2025Release ID: 2025-137 Missions: Webb

    The telescope captured near-infrared light from one of the earliest stars seen to explode in the history of the universe.

    Webb image shows hundreds of galaxies of all shapes and sizes against the black background of space. Toward the center-right is a large box that zooms in to show a faint red dot with the label GRB 250314A.

  5. NASA's Webb Digs into Structural Origins of Disk Galaxies

    June 26, 2025Release ID: 2025-121 Missions: Webb

    Scientists “excavated” disk galaxies across cosmic time to understand their formation history.

    Two mosaics of edge-on disk galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope. Each mosaic has eight images, split in two rows. The mosaic at the top is titled “thin and thick disk galaxies.” The mosaic at the bottom is titled “thick disk only galaxies.” Each disk galaxy is centered within a square frame and lies against the black background of space. They appear as thin lines with a slight bulge in their centers. A few of the galaxies are horizontal or vertical, but many are angled diagonally. The thin and thick disk galaxies are overall whiter and brighter compared to the thick disk only galaxies, which are fainter and brown-orange. Text in the bottom right of each box lists the galaxy’s redshift. From left to right, the first row of the top mosaic reads z =0.12; z = 0.25; z = 0.45; and z = 0.72. The second row reads z = 0.21; z = 0.38; z =0.65; and z = 0.73. The top row of the bottom mosaic reads z = 0.73, z = 0.94; z = 1.25; and z = 2.63. The bottom row reads z = 0.91; z = 1.03; z = 2.13; and z = 3.01.

  6. NASA's Webb Sees Galaxy Mysteriously Clearing Fog of Early Universe

    March 26, 2025Release ID: 2025-116 Missions: Webb

    Unexpected, bright hydrogen emission caught astronomers by surprise.

    A two panel image. At left, hundreds of tiny galaxies are scattered across the black background of space. A small portion of the sky near the bottom is outlined with a white box. Lines extend from the corners of the box to the right panel. At right, a small red dot at the middle is highlighted with white lines and labeled redshift z = 13. At upper left, a face-on spiral galaxy is labeled z = 0.63. At lower right, an edge-on spiral galaxy is labeled z = 0.70. A handful of other small background galaxies are seen against the black background of space. At lower right, the panel is labeled JADES-GS-z-13-1.

  7. Newfound Galaxy Class May Indicate Early Black Hole Growth, Webb Finds

    January 14, 2025Release ID: 2025-101 Missions: Webb

    Scientists compile large sample of an unusual class of objects in an effort to connect the dots to the early universe.

    Six Webb images of little red dots are combined in a two-row mosaic. Each little red dot is centered within a square frame and lies against the black background of space. Each dot has a yellow-white circular core surrounded by a red, fuzzy ring. White text in the top left corner of each box lists the source’s name from the Webb surveys, and its redshift. From left to right, the top row reads CEERS 14448, z = 4.75; NGDEEP 4321, z = 8.92; and PRIMER-COS 10539, z = 7.48. The bottom row reads CEERS 20320, z = 5.27; JADES 9186, z = 4.99; and PRIMER-UDS 17818, z = 6.40.

  8. In Odd Galaxy, NASA's Webb Finds Potential Missing Link to First Stars

    September 25, 2024Release ID: 2024-133 Missions: Webb

    With its gas shining brighter than its stars, a strange galaxy found one billion years after the big bang may represent a previously-unknown phase of galactic evolution.

    A black background sprinkled with small, colorful galaxies. On the left, a third of the way down from the top of the image, a very faint dot of a galaxy is outlined with a white square and pulled out in a graphic to be shown magnified. In the pullout square to the right, the galaxy is a hazy white dot.

  9. NASA's Hubble Finds More Black Holes than Expected in the Early Universe

    September 17, 2024Release ID: 2024-032 Missions: Hubble

    A Survey of Hubble’s Deepest Look Back into Time Uncovers New Clues

    A black background of space, sprinkled with thousands of galaxies of all shapes and sizes. In the middle of the picture is an inset box showing a closeup of a pair of galaxies from the background. The larger galaxy is spiral-shaped. The other is spindle-shaped because the galaxy is seen edge-on. The smaller galaxy has a line that points to the words "supermassive black hole" connects to a bright white spot in the middle of it.

  10. NASA's Webb Reveals Distorted Galaxy Forming Cosmic Question Mark 

    September 04, 2024Release ID: 2024-128 Missions: Webb

    Astronomers are astounded by a rare cosmic alignment showcasing highly magnified star-forming regions in distant galaxies.

    Amid a field of galaxies, a repeated, elongated red galaxy forms a shape like the top of a question mark, with another galaxy positioned like the question mark’s dot. In each occurrence, another white, clumpy galaxy with an overall circular shape appears perched on top of the red galaxy. A very bright foreground galaxy appears to the right of the bottom curve of the question mark shape. To the lower right, among other galaxies, another occurrence of the galaxy pair appears, unaffiliated with the question mark shape.

  11. Webb Finds Early Galaxies Weren't Too Big for Their Britches After All

    August 26, 2024Release ID: 2024-134 Missions: Webb

    It got called the crisis in cosmology. But now astronomers can explain some surprising recent discoveries.

    Hundreds of small galaxies against the black background of space. Several white spiral galaxies are near image center. Most of the galaxies are various shades of orange and red, and many are too tiny to discern a shape. A handful of foreground stars show Webb's six diffraction spikes.

  12. NASA's Webb Opens New Window on Supernova Science

    June 10, 2024Release ID: 2024-122 Missions: Webb

    Webb finds 10 times more supernovae in the early universe than known before.

    Space telescope image showing hundreds of objects of different colors, shapes, and sizes scattered across the black background of space, with about 80 of the objects circled in green.

  13. Galaxies Actively Forming in Early Universe Caught Feeding on Cold Gas

    May 23, 2024Release ID: 2024-114 Missions: Webb

    Only Webb can detect and investigate these galaxies, which were forming within dense, opaque gas when the universe was only a few hundred million years old.

    Illustration is awash in bright blue gas, showing a large white spiral galaxy at center and two smaller galaxies, one to its left and one to its right.

  14. Webb Unlocks Secrets of One of the Most Distant Galaxies Ever Seen

    March 04, 2024Release ID: 2024-106 Missions: Webb

    The enigmatic galaxy GN-z11 is one of the youngest ever observed.

    A rectangular image with thousands of galaxies of various shapes and colors on the black background of space. One galaxy is highlighted and labeled GN-z11.

  15. Webb Shows Many Early Galaxies Looked Like Pool Noodles, Surfboards

    January 17, 2024Release ID: 2024-104 Missions: Webb

    Hang Ten! Researchers using Webb found that many distant galaxies have flattened oval disk and tube-like shapes, not spiral or elliptical structures.

    In the far-left column are two galaxies that have been magnified. The top left galaxy appears circular and light pink with a slightly whiter central region, taking up less than one-sixth of the box. The bottom galaxy is elongated. Thin lines from each magnified galaxy to point their appearances in the broader field, part of the CEERS Survey.

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