10 Breathtaking JWST Images Revealing the Universe Like Never Before

With unprecedented resolution, wavelength sensitivity, and light-gathering power, JWST reveals our cosmos like no other observatory ever. Key Takeaways Each time we improve our views of the Universe, with better resolution, better wavelength coverage, and more light gathered overall, we start to reveal features that we simply couldn’t see previously. JWST is the largest, most sensitive space telescope ever launched, with imaging capabilities in the near-infrared and mid-infrared that surpass all other ways of viewing many aspects of the Universe in history. While the early images of JWST, which began science operations back in 2022, were spread far and wide, the observatory continues to deliver in ways that astound, delight, and inform. Catch what you may have missed! Sign up for the Starts With a Bang newsletter Travel the universe with Dr. Ethan Siegel as he answers the biggest questions of all. From 2022 onwards, JWST begun revolutionizing our cosmic perspective. Its spectacular early results broke records and inspired awe. However, these 10 recent JWST images surpassed even our imaginations. 10.) The best quadruply-lensed quasar. Four independent images join an Einstein ring. 9.) Herbig-Haro stars in star-forming NGC 1333. JWST sees newborn stars, brown dwarfs, and planets, surpassing Hubble’s hazy views. 8.) Newborn stars in Westerlund 1. A foreground interstellar cloud can’t hide this super star cluster. 7.) Spiral galaxy NGC 2566‘s gas-rich structures. While Hubble excels at imaging stars, JWST reveals cold gas, warm dust, and more. 6.) An incredible wraparound lens of a spiral galaxy. Within SMACS J0028.2-7537, a heavily lensed spiral’s star clusters appear from across the cosmos. 5.) Monster galaxy cluster Abell S1063. Perhaps the most spectacular gravitational lens ever, JWST’s views far surpass Hubble’s. 4.) Planet-forming disk IRAS 04302+2247. Violent winds drive material away from the central, edge-on protoplanetary disk. 3.) Twin dwarf galaxies NGC 4490 and NGC 4485. These nearby interacting dwarfs possess gaseous and stellar bridges that Hubble couldn’t reveal. 2.) The Red Spider Nebula. JWST spots a dying Sun-like star’s extended turbulent oscillations, which Hubble misses. 1.) Dwarf stars in newborn Westerlund 2. JWST reveals cooler, fainter, redder stars than Hubble ever could. Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words. Tags In this article Sign up for the Starts With a Bang newsletter Travel the universe with Dr. Ethan Siegel as he answers the biggest questions of all. Related Gravitational lenses arise when foreground masses and background light sources properly align. Einstein rings are rare, but crosses abound. The VENUS survey isn’t about planets at all, but about finding multiply-lensed supernovae. The ambition? To save the expanding Universe. Back in 1604, Johannes Kepler discovered the Milky Way’s last naked-eye supernova. Here’s how NASA’s Chandra sees it over the 21st century. Even the youngest galaxies are often dust-rich, even with very low levels of heavy elements. Nearby dwarf galaxy Sextans A explains why. Astronomers have found starless gas clouds before, but Cloud 9 might be the most pristine one of all, with big lessons for cosmic history. Up Next People don’t want you to buy their stories — they want you to listen to them.