Discover the cosmos through the eyes of humanity’s most powerful observatories. This video brings together breathtaking images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the legendary Hubble Space Telescope, captured in full authenticity, with no AI-generated content.
0:00 Butterfly Nebula NGC 6302
0:07 A visual feast of galaxies within our own Milky Way
0:14 Pismis 24 (Star cluster residing in the core of the Lobster Nebula)
0:21 Planetary nebula NGC 6072
0:27 Galaxy cluster Abell S1063
0:32 Cat’s Paw Nebula
0:37 Southern Ring Nebula
0:44 Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula
0:51 GC 346, dynamic star-forming regions in nearby galaxies
1:01 Pillars of Creation (M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611)
1:06 Dwarf Galaxy WLM
1:11 Webb’s First Deep Field (galaxy cluster SMACS 0723)
1:16 Pillars of Creation (M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611)
1:25 Carina Nebula Jets
1:30 Tarantula Nebula
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, is considered Hubble’s scientific successor. Positioned 1.5 million kilometers from Earth at the second Lagrange point (L2), it avoids atmospheric interference and Earth’s shadow. Unlike Hubble, Webb is optimized for infrared observations, allowing it to peer through cosmic dust clouds and detect light from the earliest galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Its 6.5-meter segmented mirror, much larger than Hubble’s 2.4-meter mirror, collects more light, enabling unprecedented sensitivity.
The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, transformed our understanding of the universe. Orbiting above Earth’s atmosphere, it provided sharp images of planets, nebulae, and galaxies, revealing details that were previously hidden from ground-based observatories. Hubble observes primarily in visible and ultraviolet light, though it can also detect some near-infrared wavelengths. Its iconic images—such as the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula or the Hubble Deep Field—have shaped modern astronomy and captured the public imagination.
Together, Hubble and Webb complement each other. Hubble continues to deliver high-resolution views in visible and ultraviolet light, while Webb probes deeper into the infrared spectrum. This combination provides a fuller picture of the cosmos, from the life cycle of stars to the search for habitable exoplanets and the origins of the first galaxies.
© 2025. José Peña Coto. All rights reserved.
