
Seeing the universe in a new light
Hubble vs Webb
Drag the slider to reveal what James Webb sees versus Hubble. Webb's infrared vision pierces dust clouds that blocked Hubble entirely, exposing thousands of previously invisible stars and galaxies.
Towering columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, 6,500 light-years away, where new stars are being born inside opaque pillars of hydrogen.
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Towering columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, 6,500 light-years away, where new stars are being born inside opaque pillars of hydrogen.
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The 'Cosmic Cliffs' of NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula — a star-forming region 7,600 light-years away where Webb pierced through dust to reveal hundreds of previously hidden newborn stars.
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NGC 3132, a planetary nebula 2,500 light-years away. Webb revealed a second, previously unseen dying star at its center, shedding new light on how stars seed space with elements.
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A compact group of five galaxies in Pegasus, 290 million light-years away. Webb's wide-field view — the largest to date — revealed shock waves from one galaxy plowing through the others.
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Webb's first deep-field image — a tiny patch of sky containing thousands of galaxies spanning billions of years of cosmic history. Hubble's original Deep Field from 1996 changed how we see the universe.
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30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud — the largest and brightest star-forming region in our galactic neighborhood, 161,000 light-years away. Webb revealed tens of thousands of never-before-seen young stars.
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A rare ring galaxy 500 million light-years away, shaped by a high-speed collision. Webb revealed the ring structure with unprecedented clarity, showing star formation along the outer ring and the galaxy's chaotic core.
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Webb captured Neptune's rings in infrared with a clarity not seen since Voyager 2 flew past in 1989, revealing the planet's fainter dust bands and seven of its moons.
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