Want to see what Webb is looking at right now? Here’s how you can
Thanks to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), you can now see what the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is looking at right now.
The NASA Space Telescope Live tool gives you access to up-to-date information on not only current, but also past and upcoming observations from JWST also.
The online application was originally designed and developed for NASA in 2016 by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore to provide up-to-the-minute updates on Hubble Space Telescope targets. It will continue to do its job for Hubble as well.
The redesigned UI and expanded functionality of the tool let you not only see which planet, star, nebula, galaxy or area of deep space both Webb and Hubble are looking at right now, but also
- where exactly the targets are
- what scientific instruments are capturing the images, spectra and other data
- precisely when and how long the observations are scheduled to occur
- the status of the observation
- who is leading the research
- what the scientists are trying to find out
The tool affords easy access to information for observations from approved science programs. This information includes the present day’s targets and the entire catalog of past observations. And that entire catalog includes JWST’s records that date back to the space telescope’s first targets in January 2022 and Hubble’s records that go all the way back to May 1990, when its operations began.
The tool, which is designed to work on desktop computers and mobile devices, uses imagery from ground-based telescopes to provide context for the observation. It can be accessed via NASA’s official Hubble and Webb websites.
Featured image’s central, bigger part, which is an image taken from Images and Media page on NASA’s website, is showing a collection of 19 face-on spiral galaxies from the James Webb Space Telescope in near- and mid-infrared light. The NASA image credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team. The NASA image designer: Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI).
Image reorientation/editing done to match the featured image space’s landscape frame on this website is by SN Digital
