NASA Science Live - An Update on the James Webb Space Telescope from the Cleanroom @NASAWebbTelescope

Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

This is a segment made for NASA Science Live: A Telescope Like a Time Machine. (You can watch that episode here: youtube.com/watch?v=yD5ZrfhVkMw)

Producer Sophia Roberts takes viewers inside Northrop Grumman’s cleanroom facility to show the recently integrated James Webb Space Telescope.

You can download this video on SVS: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13353

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Host
Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Editor
Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Producer
Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Videographer
Michael P. Menzel (AIMM): Audio Technician
Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Videographer
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support
Michael Randazzo (AIMM): Project Support

NASA Science Live - An Update on the James Webb Space Telescope from the Cleanroom

Behind the Webb: A Perfect Pair (Episode 25, March 2015)

Behind the Webb: Star Catcher (Episode 23, May 2014)

The Webb Telescope Completes Alignment Phase

Behind the Webb: Troubleshooting Webb (Episode 6, August 2010)

$Webb Telescope Data, Translated to Sound — Cosmic Cliffs: Mountains 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 only includes sounds from the bottom half of the image, which resembles a mountain range in ruddy shades of orange and red. This half of the image has a meandering melodic line to follow the shape of that “mountain range” as it rises and falls in the image, through the center of the frame, from left to right. The jagged line between denser and thinner areas of gas and dust is the arc of the sonification’s melody. Dimmer, dust-obscured areas that appear lower in the image are represented by lower frequencies and clearer, undistorted notes. 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 top of the image: https://youtu.be/ZjJpJwVEe2A 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).$

The Webb Telescope Journey to Space, Episode 6