Space Telescope Science Institute
LightNews LightNews
banner
stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute
@stsci.edu
33K followers 88 following 960 posts
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.
Posts Replies Media Videos
stsci.edu
Our fascinating Public Lecture Series is now on YouTube! 👀 We currently have the 2022-2025 lectures available to watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm0MBdI3VlBV9UAeU8Vbgwd-hPdQh6ZXT 🔭 🧪
November 10, 2025 at 9:22 PM
stsci.edu
The ridge-like Orion Bar, seen in the lower left of this Hubble image, is created when stars’ ultraviolet light—capable of carving more diffuse matter—collides with denser, less penetrable matter.

Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI. 🔭 🧪
A portion of the Orion Nebula. There are clouds of different colors and densities throughout. In the center, there are several bright white orbs, which are stars, surrounded by a pale-yellow cloud of dust and gas. Filaments of brown are spread throughout the pale-yellow clouds. Between 9 o’clock and 2 o’clock, and between 4 o’clock and 7 o’clock, there are darker brown clouds that spread to the image’s edges. A sharp diagonal line separates the pale-yellow clouds and a more purple-colored region, which contains two more bright-white stars. To the right of the pale-yellow clouds are black clouds of dust and gas. Red stars are spread throughout.
November 10, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Space Telescope Science Institute
stsci.edu
Flying through Dulles Airport near D.C.? If you’re taking the Metro, expect to be awed by almost 40 recently installed images from #NASAWebb, paired with more than 30 from the ever-active Hubble, on your way to the main terminal: https://bit.ly/4qPfl7m #wmata 🔭 🧪
November 6, 2025 at 3:10 PM
stsci.edu
Flying through Dulles Airport near D.C.? If you’re taking the Metro, expect to be awed by almost 40 recently installed images from #NASAWebb, paired with more than 30 from the ever-active Hubble, on your way to the main terminal: https://bit.ly/4qPfl7m #wmata 🔭 🧪
November 6, 2025 at 3:10 PM
stsci.edu
The Whirlpool Galaxy is one of the nearest and best examples of a grand design spiral galaxy.

Watch as Hubble's high-resolution view of this magnificent spiral galaxy comes to life in this 3D visualization.
Flyby of the Whirlpool Galaxy
YouTube video by Space Telescope Science Institute
youtu.be
November 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM
stsci.edu
In 2023, #NASAWebb observed a spectacular light show on Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The planet’s auroras are hundreds of times brighter and more energetic than Earth’s. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Nichols (University of Leicester), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb). 🔭 🧪
November 4, 2025 at 3:23 PM
stsci.edu
CAT’S PAW ON YOUR WALL! Download and print a poster featuring an infrared image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula captured in 2025 by #NASAWebb. Perfect for posting at home, school, work, or around your neighborhood: https://go.nasa.gov/3IThBsS 🔭 🧪
A James Webb Space Telescope image featuring a detailed view of the Cat's Paw Nebula, showcasing vibrant clouds of gas and dust in rich blues and oranges. Surrounding the nebula is a black border with the NASA logo at the top right, and the words “James Webb Space Telescope, Cat’s Paw Nebula at the bottom left. Along the bottom of the image are muted shades of blue, green, yellow and red.
November 3, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Space Telescope Science Institute
stsci.edu
"There is something haunting in the light of the [red giant].”

Have a happy and safe Halloween, from STScI! 🎃

Credit: Illustration: Ralf Crawford/STScI; Quote: Joseph Conrad.
October 31, 2025 at 2:05 PM
stsci.edu
Explore the Hubble Ultra Deep Field! 👀

This visualization showcases the characteristics and contents of this landmark observation, as well as its four-dimensional nature across both space and time. 🔭 🧪
Ultra Deep Field: Looking Out into Space, Looking Back into Time
This six-minute visual exploration of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field showcases the characteristics and contents of this landmark observation, as well as its four-dimensional nature across both space and time. In particular, galaxies are seen to more than 1...
youtu.be
October 31, 2025 at 3:55 PM
stsci.edu
"There is something haunting in the light of the [red giant].”

Have a happy and safe Halloween, from STScI! 🎃

Credit: Illustration: Ralf Crawford/STScI; Quote: Joseph Conrad.
October 31, 2025 at 2:05 PM
stsci.edu
Check out some of the great costumes worn by Space Telescope Science Institute staff as they celebrate Halloween. 🎃
A man is wearing a replica of the 18-panel Webb telescope mirror, hanging from his neck. Two people dressed as "la Catrina" and "el Catrina," popular for celebrating Dia de Muertos. Three people facing the camera, two of them are wearing bee costumes and the one in the middle is dressed as a beekeeper. A man wearing green carves a design into a pumpkin.
October 30, 2025 at 6:04 PM
stsci.edu
#NASAWebb 🤝 Rocky exoplanets

With Webb, astronomers have found that several rocky worlds around red dwarf stars have no atmospheres. This is fostering new questions about these distant, habitable-zone worlds, and Webb is helping astronomers investigate.

Credit: STScI. 🔭 🧪
October 30, 2025 at 2:30 PM
stsci.edu
"Weaving spiders, come not here, Hence, you long legged spinners, hence! 🕷️
science.esa.int ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · 13d
Red Spider Nebula, caught by Webb 🕸️

🕷️ Planetary nebulae like this cosmic creepy-crawly form when stars like the Sun reach the end of their lives, balloon into cool red giants & shed their outer layers 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
🧪 🔭
A large planetary nebula. The nebula’s central star is hidden by a blotchy pinkish cloud of dust. A strong red light radiates from this area, illuminating the nearby dust. Two large loops extend diagonally away from the centre, formed of thin ridges of molecular gas, here coloured blue. A huge number of bright, whitish stars cover the background, also easily visible through the thin dust layers. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (Rochester Institute of Technology)
October 29, 2025 at 6:08 PM
stsci.edu
There are no expansive, glowing eyes in this Hubble image. This “face” is the result of two galaxies that collided head-on and have begun to intertwine. They will merge completely in 1-2 billion years. For now, they make up a ring galaxy, a rare classification. Credit: NASA/ESA 🔭 🧪 🎃
Galaxy merger that resembles a face with large, glowing yellow eyes. At the center are two bright white, fuzzy ovals that appear side by side. These white ovals are the cores of the galaxies. The right galaxy’s core has a brown ring of dust and gas around it and appears fully face-on. The left galaxy is appears at a slight angle, but is mainly face-on. Together, they appear to make up the “eyes” of the “face.” Outside this core are lanes of blue gas and dust, which take the shape of a rough oval, and are about as large as a head when compared to the size and appearance of the galaxies. Strewn throughout the image are many fuzzy streaks and dots, which are galaxies and stars respectively.
October 29, 2025 at 2:25 PM
stsci.edu
Cassiopeia A is one of the closest and brightest supernova remnants to Earth, created by the explosion of a massive star.

Click through this image of Cas A on ViewSpace: https://viewspace.org/interactives/image_tours/6 🔭 🧪
Image of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, captured in vivid colors showing intricate details of the explosion with interactive icons for further information.
October 28, 2025 at 5:37 PM
stsci.edu
This visualization explores the Orion Nebula as seen in visible-light observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. These high-resolution visible observations show fine details including the wispy bow shocks and tadpole-shaped proplyds. 🔭 🧪
Flight Through the Orion Nebula in Visible Light
This visualization explores the Orion Nebula as seen in visible-light observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. This movie is designed to be compared and contrasted against the companion movie using infrared-light observations from the Spitzer Space...
youtu.be
October 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM
stsci.edu
🎥 What lurks behind the dense, dusty clouds of this galactic neighbor? There lies the star-powered heart of the galaxy Messier 82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy. 🔭 🧪
Heart of Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy) - Hubble Space Telescope #shorts
What lurks behind the dense, dusty clouds of this galactic neighbor? There lies the star-powered heart of the galaxy Messier 82 (M82), also known as the Cigar Galaxy. Located just 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Be...
youtube.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
stsci.edu
Our fascinating Public Lecture Series is now on YouTube! We currently have the 2023-2025 lectures available to watch. 🔭 🧪
STScI Public Lecture Series - YouTube
The STScI Public Lectures Series held monthly presentations on all aspects of astronomy and space telescopes for several decades. Due to changes in funding, ...
www.youtube.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Space Telescope Science Institute
stsci.edu
A dead star has been spotted ripping a planet apart! “Something clearly disturbed this system long after the star’s death,” said co-investigator John Debes of the Space Telescope Science Institute. (1/4) 🔭 🧪 🧵
At image center is a small, white star against a gray background. It is surrounded by a large translucent disk with rings and gaps that extends from upper left to lower right. In the foreground, irregular chunky rocks are floating in space along the bottom of the frame. A stream of material extends from lower right toward the central star. The words, artist’s concept are at lower left.
October 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Space Telescope Science Institute
stsci.edu
The Chandra observatory is adding a pop of pink to our day! X-ray light shines through these #NASAWebb images of merging galaxies and star-forming regions. Chandra released a collection of images that showcase how it complements other observatories: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2025/cosmic/ 🔭 🧪
A giant star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Shafts of golden light bursting out of a central glowing orb cut through misty purple clouds. Pink rays burst from the glowing orb. A star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy. This image resembles a tangle of dark pink hair flowing upward that is dotted with dozens of colorful orbs in various sizes. A system where two galaxies are in the process of merging set against a star-filled black background. Two white clusters meet, backed by hot pink tendrils, swirls of speckled orange, and gauzy steel blue ribbons. They gleam with golden shafts of light.
October 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
stsci.edu
The Chandra observatory is adding a pop of pink to our day! X-ray light shines through these #NASAWebb images of merging galaxies and star-forming regions. Chandra released a collection of images that showcase how it complements other observatories: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2025/cosmic/ 🔭 🧪
A giant star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Shafts of golden light bursting out of a central glowing orb cut through misty purple clouds. Pink rays burst from the glowing orb. A star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy. This image resembles a tangle of dark pink hair flowing upward that is dotted with dozens of colorful orbs in various sizes. A system where two galaxies are in the process of merging set against a star-filled black background. Two white clusters meet, backed by hot pink tendrils, swirls of speckled orange, and gauzy steel blue ribbons. They gleam with golden shafts of light.
October 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
stsci.edu
A dead star has been spotted ripping a planet apart! “Something clearly disturbed this system long after the star’s death,” said co-investigator John Debes of the Space Telescope Science Institute. (1/4) 🔭 🧪 🧵
At image center is a small, white star against a gray background. It is surrounded by a large translucent disk with rings and gaps that extends from upper left to lower right. In the foreground, irregular chunky rocks are floating in space along the bottom of the frame. A stream of material extends from lower right toward the central star. The words, artist’s concept are at lower left.
October 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
stsci.edu
Before #NASAWebb, it had been 30+ years since astronomers looked closely at Neptune. With Webb, scientists imaged the planet’s auroras and studied its atmosphere, including unexpectedly finding a significant drop in temperature—all at a distance.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. 🔭 🧪
October 23, 2025 at 2:33 PM
stsci.edu
This science visualization presents the dramatic landscape of two nebulas in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The video, based on images by Hubble, takes viewers on a close-up tour of the nebulas' three-dimensional structures, as envisioned by scientists and artists. 🔭 🧪
Cosmic Reef: NGC 2014 & NGC 2020
This science visualization presents the dramatic landscape of two nebulas in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The video, based on images by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, takes viewers on a close-up tour of the nebulas' three-dimensional structures, as envis...
youtu.be
October 22, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Space Telescope Science Institute
astroerika.bsky.social
Want to know more about my recent paper about this cool geriatric white dwarf eating its planets? 🤩

It’s all detailed in this news article by @stsci.edu ! 🔭
stsci.edu Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 19d
Astronomers have found a rare, ancient planetary system 145 light-years away, where a white dwarf star is actively consuming debris from a disrupted planet—the oldest and most “polluted” disk ever seen around such a star: https://bit.ly/47mYktj 🔭 🧪
At image center is a small, white star against a gray background. It is surrounded by a large translucent disk with rings and gaps that extends from upper left to lower right. In the foreground, irregular chunky rocks are floating in space along the bottom of the frame. A stream of material extends from lower right toward the central star. The words, artist’s concept are at lower left.
October 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM