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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'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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Webb Spotlights Gravitational Arcs in 'El Gordo' Galaxy Cluster

    August 02, 2023Release ID: 2023-119 Missions: Webb

    New image reveals galaxy groups, smudges, and dusty distant objects.

    A black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, ranging in color from white to yellow to red.

  6. Webb Detects Most Distant Active Supermassive Black Hole to Date

    July 06, 2023Release ID: 2023-114 Missions: Webb

    With Webb, a slew of other distant black holes and early galaxies also popped into view for the first time.

    Thousands of galaxies appear in this view, which is set against the black background of space. There are many overlapping objects at various distances. They include large, blue foreground stars, some with all eight diffraction spikes, and white and pink spiral and elliptical galaxies. Numerous tiny red dots appear throughout the scene. This is a portion of a vast survey known shorthand as CEERS.

  7. Early Universe Crackled With Bursts of Star Formation, Webb Shows

    June 05, 2023Release ID: 2023-127 Missions: Webb

    Webb also continues to uncover a bounty of distant, young galaxies

    Thousands of small galaxies are scattered on a black background. Some are noticeably spirals, either face-on or edge-on, while others are blobby ellipticals. Many are too small to discern any structure. A few spirals are bluish, but most of the galaxies appear yellow or red. A handful of stars display eight-point diffraction spikes.

  8. Webb Reveals Early-Universe Prequel to Huge Galaxy Cluster

    April 24, 2023Release ID: 2023-118 Missions: Webb

    Protocluster Confirmed, 650 Million Years after the Big Bang

    Telescope image with infographic overlays. Wide view of many galaxies colored orange, red and white. Most white galaxies have a hazy halo. A grouping of larger white galaxies appears below center. In the top half of the image, five small white squares highlight galaxies that would not stand out otherwise, with lines radiating from the small squares to a stacked column of five squares along the entire right side of the image, providing a zoomed-in view of specific galaxies, all appearing red.

  9. Peekaboo! A Tiny, Hidden Galaxy Provides a Peek into the Past

    December 06, 2022Release ID: 2022-051 Missions: Hubble

    Tucked away in a local pocket of dark matter, a late-blooming dwarf galaxy looks like it belongs in the early universe.

    A large bright star is centered, with four long rays extending in an X shape. Between the rays on the right is a small blue peanut-shaped galaxy with some bright spots. Smaller similar stars and orange background galaxies fill image.

  10. Studying Galaxy Growth Spurts in the Early Universe with NASA’s Roman

    June 27, 2022Release ID: 2022-018 Missions: Roman

    Roman will bring new insights into the time known as “cosmic noon.”

    A portion of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field containing hundreds of galaxies. Four spiral galaxies, labeled 1 through 4, are called out with white boxes at right.

  11. NASA's Webb to Uncover Riches of the Early Universe

    June 22, 2022Release ID: 2022-015 Missions: Webb

    Two research teams will use the telescope's powerful instruments to capture and characterize some of the earliest galaxies in the universe. 

    Space field full of colorful galaxies of different sizes and shapes

  12. Mini-Jet Found Near Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

    December 09, 2021Release ID: 2021-062 Missions: Hubble

    Hubble Finds a Smoldering Remnant in a Blast From the Past

    Multiwavelength composite view of Milky Way's center; vertical white fan graphic represents jet's axis from the black hole.

  13. Hubble Finds Early, Massive Galaxies Running on Empty

    September 22, 2021Release ID: 2021-039 Missions: Hubble

    "Dead" galaxies mysteriously ran out of fuel to make stars early in the universe.

    Four-panel image of gravitationally lensed REQUIEM survey galaxies in lensing galaxy clusters MACS J1341 and MACS J2129

  14. A New Understanding of Galaxy Evolution with NASA's Roman Space Telescope

    September 21, 2021Release ID: 2021-048 Missions: Roman

    Roman will combine the power of imaging and spectroscopy to gain fresh insights into how the universe works

    a field of galaxies with colored lines

  15. Mapping the Early Universe with NASA's Webb Telescope

    June 24, 2020Release ID: 2020-37 Missions: Webb

    Researchers will explore a treasure trove of thousands of galaxies

    Telescope image showing thousands of galaxies across the view. Most appear only as tiny dots in shades of red, orange, and white. The background is black.

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