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Space Telescope Science Institute
@stsci.edu
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The Space Telescope Science Institute is the Science Operations Center for Webb, Hubble, and the upcoming Roman space telescopes, & Mission Operations Center for Webb. We help humanity explore the universe with advanced space telescopes and data archive.
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This isn’t a scene of holiday lights gone awry—it’s cold dust in two galaxies! #NASAWebb’s mid-infrared observations uniquely capture the dust in exquisite detail. See how the pair looks when visible and UV light are added from Hubble: https://bit.ly/4oxgK0u
Two spiral galaxies take the shape of a colorful beaded mask that sits above the nose and is angled from top left to bottom right. The galaxy at left, IC 2163, is smaller, taking up a little over a quarter of the view. The galaxy at right, NGC 2207, takes up half the view. IC 2163 has a bright white core, with two prominent white spiral arms that rotate counterclockwise and become straighter toward the ends. Its arms are dotted with pink. NGC 2207 has a very bright core that is larger. Overall, it appears to have thicker spiral arms that spin counterclockwise. This galaxy also contains more pink areas of star formation. In the middle, the galaxies’ arms appear to overlap. The black background of space shows extremely distant galaxies that are tiny, and often red and orange smudges, as well as a few blue foreground stars.
December 24, 2025 at 2:11 PM
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Hubble has imaged the largest planet-forming disk ever seen! At 400 billion miles wide, it is roughly 40 times the diameter of our solar system. The disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, offering new insights into how planetary systems form: https://bit.ly/477sQ9b 🔭 🧪
Near the center is an object that resembles an edge-on view of a hamburger. There is a diagonal dark strip (the meat patty) of dust, running from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock, that obscures a central star. Curving away from either side of the dark strip are glowing white clouds (the buns) where dust is reflecting starlight. Bright blue finger-like wisps of material extend far above and below the dark center plane. A few dozen stars, some with four diffraction spikes, are scattered on the black background of space.
December 23, 2025 at 2:07 PM
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We have a last-minute gift idea for the space lover in your life! 🎁 Print and frame this poster featuring an image of Pismis 24—a sparkling scene of star birth—captured by #NASAWebb.

The holiday clock is ticking—download the poster now: https://bit.ly/4jfYYNM 🔭
A vertically oriented poster with an image of Pismis 24 against a black background. A dark blue sky filled with white and yellow stars of different sizes covers about two thirds of the image. Across the bottom third of the scene are orange, mountain-like clouds with spire-like peaks that point toward a wispy white cloud which stretches horizontally across the scene. Dense clouds of a similar color are spread about the top right corner of the image. Along the bottom is a series of thin vertical bars ranging from purple at left to blue, green, yellow, orange, and red at right. Bars are separated slightly, with black in between. Bar colors are brightest at the bottom, fading up to black. Brightness varies from bar to bar, giving the array an undulating feel. At upper right is text that reads, “National Aeronautics and Space Administration” and NASA’s blue, white, and red meatball insignia. Title text appears at lower left that says, “James Webb Space Telescope: Pismis 24.”
December 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
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How can you use the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope?

Once Roman begins its science operations in 2027, all of its data will be available freely and rapidly—there is no proprietary period. This is a survey mission, so there will be quite a lot to review: bit.ly/4pIeaFJ 🔭 ☄️
The Roman Space Telescope is shown against a space background, with words at top: Prepare for Research.
December 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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Flying through #Dulles Airport this week? Don't forget to check out the new James Webb Space Telescope exhibit in the corridor between the Metro station and the main terminal.

If you missed it, you can still read about it: https://www.stsci.edu/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-403 🔭
December 20, 2025 at 4:59 PM
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We’re going back to the late 1900s! 🧓🏻 In 1994, astronomers found conclusive evidence for a supermassive black hole in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy M87 in Hubble images: https://go.nasa.gov/43c9C1d 🔭 🧪
Gas disk in the nucleus of active galaxy M87, as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. A grainy orange haze fills the frame. In the center is a bright nucleus surrounded by a spiral-like structure, the disk. A thin stream of orange, clumpy material, a jet, emerges from the nucleus and continues diagonally to the upper right corner of the frame. A pullout shows more details in the area around the nucleus.
December 19, 2025 at 2:51 PM
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NEWS: For the first time, astronomers using Hubble have witnessed catastrophic collisions in a nearby planetary system around the star Fomalhaut. As shown in this animation, the evidence is in the form of expanding dust clouds: https://bit.ly/42yjnFL 🔭 🧪
December 18, 2025 at 7:10 PM
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TODAY: Dr. Stefanie Milam will discuss how the James Webb Space Telescope is revealing details across the Solar System that were not previously known—at 4 p.m. ET.
Planets, Asteroids, and Interstellar Interlopers, OH MY! Revealing the Solar System with JWST
The James Webb Space Telescope may have been designed to detect the first stars and galaxies of our Universe, but it is also seeking new insights into objects much closer to home. From aurora on giant planets, to studies of mysterious objects traversing...
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December 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Expansive near-infrared views of the Milky Way taken by #NASARoman are now formally defined and the planning is underway. Learn about all the science that will be made possible by Roman’s Galactic Plane General Astrophysics Survey: bit.ly/4aU4Mdq 🔭☄️
The Roman Space Telescope is shown against a space background.
December 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
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Space Telescope Science Institute's Brandon Lawton joined The Walters Art Museum last week to discuss how artists and scientists use light, from creating spectacular visuals to understanding our place in the universe.
A man speaks to museum visitors in an art gallery. The background features various artworks and illuminated display cases. Group of visitors observing an exhibit at the Medieval Mediterranean display in a museum, guided by a man holding a tablet. A man in the middle holds up an image of a space object, while a group of visitors in an art gallery wear red paper glasses.
December 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
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In “an absolute surprise,” #NASAWebb has uncovered a bizarre, lemon-shaped exoplanet with an exotic helium-and-carbon-dominated atmosphere unlike any ever seen before. The finding is shaking up theories about planet formation: https://bit.ly/48Fxopu 🔭 🧪
December 16, 2025 at 3:10 PM
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Space Telescope Science Institute staff took part in the Annual Mayor's Christmas Parade in Baltimore this weekend. Floats included replicas as the Hubble, James Webb and Nancy Grace Roman space telescopes.
Person in an orange NASA jacket and a sequined Santa hat in a festive street scene with several people seated on curbside, watching a parade. A festive parade scene on a city street with people watching a float designed to the look like the James Webb Space Telescope being towed by a red pickup truck. A festive parade float staged in a snowy setting, featuring a bed with colorful gifts and a large shiny prop resembling the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Two individuals are decorating a snow-covered golf cart with shiny gold stars and other festive ornaments.
December 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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Dr. Nancy Grace Roman is known as the "mother of Hubble." She was the first female executive at NASA and became the first Chief of Astronomy. The telescope named in her honor will launch by May 2027. 🔭
It's very important that you pursue that dream to devote your life to studying the cosmos #shorts
YouTube video by Space Telescope Science Institute
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December 15, 2025 at 6:57 PM
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Why will #NASARoman map millions of galaxies and reveal bubble-like cosmic voids? The details of these voids can tell us more about the mysterious force known as dark energy that is causing the universe’s expansion to accelerate: https://bit.ly/4p9sDKI 🔭 🧪
December 15, 2025 at 3:04 PM
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Why will #NASARoman map millions of galaxies and reveal bubble-like cosmic voids? The details of these voids can tell us more about the mysterious force known as dark energy that is causing the universe’s expansion to accelerate: https://bit.ly/4p9sDKI 🔭 🧪
December 15, 2025 at 3:04 PM
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SAVE THE DATE: Dr. Stefanie Milam will discuss how #NASAWebb is revealing details across the Solar System that were not previously known—December 17 at 4 p.m. ET.
Planets, Asteroids, and Interstellar Interlopers, OH MY! Revealing the Solar System with JWST
YouTube video by Space Telescope Science Institute
www.youtube.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:48 PM
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Explore the universe in data-based 3D science visualizations, dive deep into images from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, learn how galaxies are made, and watch lectures on all things astronomy! 🔭 🧪

✅ Subscribe to your new favorite YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@spacetelescopevision
December 12, 2025 at 3:53 PM
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#NASAWebb has detected a thick blanket of gas surrounding the distant lava world TOI-561 b, challenging the idea that small planets so close to their stars are not able to sustain atmospheres: https://bit.ly/3MvZQRQ 🔭 🧪
Illustration of a planet orbiting a star, with the words “Artist’s Concept” in the lower left corner. About one-quarter of the star is visible in the upper left corner; most of the star is out of the frame. The star has a Sun-like appearance: yellowy orange with darker orange mottling and an orange glow. The planet is toward the lower right. The left half of the visible hemisphere is lit by the star; the right half is in darkness. The lit side of the planet has the bright whitish fuzzy glow of an atmosphere. The surface of the planet seems to glow with swaths and patches of bright orange as though part of the planet is molten. The boundary between the lit and dark side of the planet is fuzzy. The background is black with some faint background stars and hints of other planets.
December 11, 2025 at 3:12 PM
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Children can try these astronomy activities inspired by women astronomers, including one from the Space Telescope Science Institute: What Can Space Telescopes See?
Astronomy Activities Inspired by Women Who Study the Stars
Air and Space Connection Different telescopes see different things. These views are inspired by real telescopes. The Hubble Space Telescope has a narrow field of view The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope will have a wide field of view Scientists will use the...
airandspace.si.edu
December 10, 2025 at 6:44 PM
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Yes, you are looking up—WAY UP! Hubble captured bright, actively forming stars illuminating gas clouds that are 160,000 light-years away in another galaxy. The stars sculpt clumps of dust with powerful UV light—and will keep at it for millions of years. Credit: NASA, ESA.
The scene is mostly filled with thick, dark brown clouds of gas, lit up in blue tones by the stars toward the center and center-right. Stars in this star cluster shine bright blue, often with four-pointed spikes. Small blobs of denser gas float in the center of the scene. Where the dust is dark, including at the bottom, the stars appear redder. Near the bottom are ridges of denser dusty gas, with small finger-like pillars at their edges that point towards the central star cluster.
December 10, 2025 at 2:50 PM
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Improvements ahead! A team at STScI recently launched a full suite of enhanced Jupyter Notebooks for scientific analyses with Hubble. The upgrades improve the functionality of the repository, as well as the DrizzlePac software suite: https://bit.ly/3XJAXVh 🔭 🧪 ☄️
Hubble Space Telescope in space orbiting above Earth’s limb. Words to the right read: Hubble Notebook Update.
December 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
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This two-part illustration represents supernova GRB 250314A as it was exploding and three months after that when #NASAWebb observed it. Webb confirmed the supernova occurred when the universe was only 730 million years old.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Leah Hustak (STScI).
Two-part illustration represents supernova GRB 250314A. On the left half, supernova illustrated immediately after its explosion: The stellar remnant is a tiny bright blue dot surrounded by small, fluffy light blue clumps. Two prominent, bright white jets point to 11 o’clock and 5 o’clock. The jets end in fat, brighter orbs. At top, there is a smattering of pink star clusters with a few larger bright white areas, which represent the rest of the supernova’s host galaxy. At right, which represents the fading infrared glow Webb observed, the scene is awash in bright blues, purples, and pinks with only small areas of the black background of space peeking at the edges. At center-right is a large white blob surrounded by bright pink rays of light in all directions. Around it are irregular light purple circles, which look like flower petals. At the top left, there is also a smattering of pink star clusters representing the supernova’s host galaxy, but most appear overshadowed by the expanded pink and purple material.
December 9, 2025 at 5:25 PM
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Another #NASAWebb record breaker: a supernova that existed only 730 million years after the big bang! Learn how Webb delivered the conclusive evidence when it followed up on a fleeting event known as a gamma-ray burst: https://bit.ly/3Y782ul 🔭 🧪
Webb image shows hundreds of galaxies of all shapes and sizes against the black background of space. Toward the center-left is a large white spiral galaxy that is almost face-on. To the right of this is a large box, which zooms in on an area at top right. Within the box is a faint red dot at the center, with the label GRB 250314A.
December 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM
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Wonder Bound—the product of a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the Vatican Observatory—brings images from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes to a historic venue. 🔭 🧪
Wonder and discovery coalesce at Vatican Observatory exhibition
Wonder Bound, the product of a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the Vatican Observatory, brings images from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes to a historic venue
hub.jhu.edu
December 8, 2025 at 6:55 PM
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Scientists say the best explanation for an extraordinary gamma-ray burst is that a black hole consumed a star, but they disagree on exactly how it happened. Astronomers have been analyzing data from observatories, including #NASAWebb, as they try to work out what was responsible for the outburst. 🔭
Black Hole Eats Star: NASA Missions Discover Record-Setting Blast - NASA Science
Astronomers have been poring over a flood of data from NASA satellites and other facilities as they try to work out what was responsible for an extraordinary
science.nasa.gov
December 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM