See distant galaxies sparkling in James Webb’s biggest image yet

By Georgina Torbet Updated August 21, 2022

The wonders of the universe are on full display once again thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope. A team from a Webb survey program has released the largest Webb image yet, showing a dazzling array of galaxies spread across the background of space.

The image is from the CEERS or Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science program, which surveys a patch of the sky near the handle of the Big Dipper constellation. The aim of the survey is to search for extremely distant galaxies by looking at a generally dim area of the sky that is far away from bright light sources, such as the plane of the solar system and the center of the Milky Way. By looking at this dim area, Webb can see very faint distant galaxies as they aren’t blotted out by nearer bright light sources.

This image, from a patch of sky near the handle of the Big Dipper, is part of a larger mosaic taken with the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope. This is one of the first images obtained by the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS) collaboration. — This image, from a patch of sky near the handle of the Big Dipper, is part of a larger mosaic taken with the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope. This is one of the first images obtained by the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS) collaboration. NASA/STScI/CEERS/TACC/S. Finkelstein/M. Bagley/Z. Levay

“I have been waiting so long to share this, and it is finally time!” researcher Rebecca Larson cheerfully announced on Twitter. “Do you want to see THE BIGGEST IMAGE #JWST has taken of galaxies so far?! Our color mosaic image from @ceers_jwst is ready, and there are SO MANY GALAXIES in it!”

“Check out our amazing color image,” lead researcher Steve Finkelstein chimed in as well. “Download the high-res version and lose yourself in all the galaxies!”

As the researchers suggest, you should go to the CEERS website to see the high-resolution image in all its incredible detail. This is Webb’s largest survey area yet and consists of four images of the 10 total planned for the survey, taken using Webb’s NIRCam instrument in June 2022. More observations are scheduled for later this year.

This image—a mosaic of 690 individual frames taken with the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope—covers an area of sky about eight times as large as Webb’s First Deep Field Image released on July 12. It’s from a patch of sky near the handle of the Big Dipper. This is one of the first images obtained by the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS) collaboration. — This image — a mosaic of 690 individual frames taken with the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope — covers an area of sky about eight times as large as Webb’s First Deep Field Image released on July 12. It’s from a patch of sky near the handle of the Big Dipper. This is one of the first images obtained by the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS) collaboration. NASA/STScI/CEERS/TACC/S. Finkelstein/M. Bagley/Z. Levay

As well as bringing us stunning images to look at, such surveys play an important role in identifying interesting targets for follow-up study. Included in this mosaic are objects like a set of interacting galaxies dubbed the “Space Kraken,” a supernova spotted in a pair of interacting galaxies, and an extremely distant galaxy named after Finkelstein’s daughter Maisie.

Further surveys are to come with Webb once CEERS wraps up, including the Next Generation Deep Extragalactic Exploratory Survey, or NGDEEP, and the James Webb Space Telescope Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES.

Topics

Tech News

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…

Space

Webb captures a Penguin and an Egg for its two-year anniversary

This “penguin party” is loud! The distorted spiral galaxy at center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at left, the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. A new near- and mid-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken to mark its second year of science, shows that their interaction is marked by a faint upside-down U-shaped blue glow.

This “penguin party” is loud! The distorted spiral galaxy at center, called the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at left, called the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. A new near- and mid-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken to mark its second year of science, shows that their interaction is marked by a faint upside-down U-shaped blue glow. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Today, July 12, marks two years since the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope were unveiled. In that time, Webb has discovered the most distant galaxies known, uncovered surprises about the early universe, peered into the atmospheres of distant planets, and produced a plethora of beautiful images of space.

Space

James Webb snaps a colorful image of a star in the process of forming

L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), is a molecular cloud that harbors a protostar. It resides about 460 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. The more diffuse blue light and the filamentary structures in the image come from organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while the red at the center of this image is an energized, thick layer of gases and dust that surrounds the protostar. The region in between, which shows up in white, is a mixture of PAHs, ionized gas, and other molecules.

L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), is a molecular cloud that harbors a protostar. It resides about 460 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a young star called a protostar and the huge outflows of dust and gas that are thrown out as it consumes material from its surrounding cloud. This object has now been observed using two of Webb's instruments: a previous version that was taken in the near-infrared with Webb's NIRCam camera, and new data in the mid-infrared taken with Webb's MIRI instrument.

Space

See a stunning 3D visualization of astronomy’s most beautiful object

This image is a mosaic of visible-light and infrared-light views of the same frame from the Pillars of Creation visualization. The three-dimensional model of the pillars created for the visualization sequence is alternately shown in the Hubble Space Telescope version (visible light) and the Webb Space Telescope version (infrared light).

This image is a mosaic of visible-light and infrared-light views of the same frame from the Pillars of Creation visualization. The three-dimensional model of the pillars created for the visualization sequence is alternately shown in the Hubble Space Telescope version (visible light) and the Webb Space Telescope version (infrared light). Greg Bacon (STScI), Ralf Crawford (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI), Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI), NASA's Universe of Learning

The Pillars of Creation are perhaps the most famous object in all of astronomy. Part of the Eagle Nebula, this vista was first captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, and has captivated the public ever since with its dramatic rising pillars of dust and gas that stretch several light-years high. The nebula has been imaged often since then, including again by Hubble in 2014 and more recently by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022.