An Introduction to the James Webb Space Telescope Mission @NASAWebbTelescope

Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest, most powerful and most technologically challenging space telescope ever built.

The Webb Telescope is so large, it must be folded like origami to fit inside its rocket fairing for the ride into space. Once in space, unfolding and readying Webb for science is a complex process that will take about six months.

Webb is designed to see the most distant galaxies in the Universe and study how galaxies evolved over cosmic time. Webb will study planets orbiting other stars looking for the chemical signatures of the building blocks of life. Webb will also study planets within our own solar system.

The Webb Telescope Mission is an international space telescope program led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

You can find a Spanish-language version of this video and also download the different versions here: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13367

Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Lead Producer
Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Lead Writer
Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (USRA): Animator
Jonathan North (USRA): Animator
Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Animator
Michael Lentz (USRA): Animator
Bailee DesRocher (USRA): Animator
Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Lead Editor
Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Lead Videographer
Kristen Carney (Self): Narrator

Music Credit: Universal Production Music tracks: Future Generation Alternative Version by Dury; Moment of Anticipation Instrumental by Connolly; Dark Matter Instrumental by Beits

An Introduction to the James Webb Space Telescope Mission

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$Webb Telescope Data, Translated to Sound — Cosmic Cliffs: Sky Experience the first full-color images and data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in a brand new way. A near-infrared image of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula, captured by NASA’s Webb Telescope, has been mapped to a symphony of sounds to create a data sonification. This video includes sounds from just the top half of the image, which resembles a dark blue night sky. The gas and dust that are represented in blue hues have been translated to windy, drone-like sounds. All stars are represented by a combination of pitches and processed piano notes, but the brightest stars with longer diffraction spikes also carry crashes and clangs from cymbals. Sonifications support blind and low-vision listeners first, but are designed to be captivating to anyone who tunes in. This sonification, which scans the image from left to right, was adapted to a video to allow sighted viewers to watch as a vertical line moves across the frame. Brighter light in the image is louder. The vertical position of light also dictates the frequency of sound. For example, bright light near the top of the image sounds loud and high, but bright light near the bottom is loud and lower pitched. This sonification does not represent sounds recorded in space. Two musicians mapped the telescope’s data to sound, carefully composing music to accurately represent details the team would like listeners to focus on. In a way, this sonification is like modern dance or an impressionist painting – it converts Webb’s image to a new medium to engage and inspire listeners. Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-webb-s-first-full-color-images-data-are-set-to-sound Also listen to: 1. The full sonification: https://youtu.be/j9shIxS-W-8 2. The lower half of the image: https://youtu.be/W-MUP2TbsWo 3. Stars only: https://youtu.be/L-STysURL1U Want more Webb sonifications? Check out the Southern Ring Nebula sonifications (https://youtu.be/La9DB-bcy5Y), and the WASP-96 b sonification (https://youtu.be/vqa94WD6smc). Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI; Accessibility Production: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Kimberly Arcand (CXC/SAO), Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida (SYSTEM Sounds), Quyen Hart (STScI), Claire Blome (STScI), and Christine Malec (consultant).$

Happy #Halloween from Webb! #short #astronomy #nasawebb #universe

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