These targets listed below represent the first wave of color science images and spectra the observatory has collected and the official start of Webb’s general science operations. They were selected by an international committee of representatives from the PAN, ESA, CSA and the Space Telescope Science Institute.
- Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula hosts many massive stars, several times larger than the Sun.
- WASP-96b (spectrum). WASP-96 b is a giant planet outside our solar system, composed mostly of gas. The planet, located about 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It is about half the mass of Jupiter and its discovery was announced in 2014.
- South Ring Nebula. The Southern Ring, or “Eight Bursts” Nebula, is a planetary nebula: an expanding cloud of gas around a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter and approximately 2,000 light-years from Earth.
- Stephan’s Quintet: About 290 million light-years away, Stephan’s Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus. It is notable for being the first compact group of galaxies discovered in 1877. Four of the five galaxies within the quintet are captured in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters.
- SMACS 0723: Large clusters of foreground galaxies magnify and distort light from objects behind them, allowing deep-field viewing of populations of extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxies.
The release of these first images marks the official start of Webb’s science operations, which will continue to explore the mission’s key science topics.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond distant worlds around other stars, and explore the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.