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Space Telescope Science Institute

@stsci.edu

STScI is the Science Operations Center for Webb, Hubble, and the upcoming Roman space telescopes, & Mission Operations Center for Webb. We help humanity explore the universe with advanced space telescopes and data archive. news.stsci.edu

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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 19m ago

What did STScI work on during the first half of 2026? Learn about our work for Hubble, Webb, Roman, MAST, and the Habitable Worlds Observatory concept—along with how we help explain astronomers’ discoveries: https://bit.ly/4pRf4ke

The words STScI Updates, How We Support You run over an image of space that shows distant galaxies against a black background.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 3h ago

Curious about what’s next for #NASARoman as it nears launch? The Roman blog is NASA's hub for the mission's launch updates, where all are invited for behind-the-scenes looks on Roman's road to launch and operations.

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Archives - NASA Science

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope blog is NASA's hub for the mission's launch updates, where all are invited for behind-the-scenes looks on Roman's road to launch and beyond. This flagship mission's vast, deep surveys will help astronomers explore d...

science.nasa.gov

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 23h ago

AUGUST 11: Scientists will discuss the engineering behind #NASARoman’s lift-off and the path to its final destination, as well as the science potential to survey the heart of our Milky Way galaxy and find a variety of objects—including isolated black holes—using innovative techniques.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: Countdown to Exploration

YouTube video by Space Telescope Science Institute

youtube.com

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · yesterday

On July 27, technicians at Kennedy Space Center in Florida installed a memory card containing 1,350,144 names as part of a commemorative plaque on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. #NASARoman

NASA's Roman Telescope to Carry 1.35 Million Names to Deep Space

On July 27, technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida installed a memory card containing 1,350,144 names as part of a commemorative plaque on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

nasa.gov

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · yesterday

The prominence of the Whirlpool Galaxy’s spiral arms in this Hubble image is thought to be due to the gravitational interactions between its spiral arms and the companion galaxy at top right: https://bit.ly/4yjrLIq

A spiral galaxy and a smaller companion galaxy. The central region of the spiral galaxy is bright, pale yellow at the central point, and becomes more diffuse with distance from the center. From this central point, two arms of the galaxy spiral outward. The spiral arms have thick, brown dust lanes at their centers, and blue clusters of stars toward their outer edges. There are pockets of pink star-forming regions spread throughout. One of the two brown dust lanes curves clockwise around the core, ending at the bottom left of the image. The other lane also curves clockwise, ending at the top right. In the upper right, behind the end of the second arm, is a smaller, more compact galaxy. This galaxy is elliptical in shape, with no spiral arms. It is a similar pale yellow as the center of the spiral galaxy. There are several red stars and background galaxies strewn throughout, set against the black background of space.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 2d ago

OPPORTUNITY: The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, is seeking a leader for the Data Science Mission Office to serve as the senior strategic and scientific leader of the Institute’s data science and AI initiatives: https://bit.ly/4pTnd7z

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 2d ago

At STScI’s spring symposium in Baltimore, astronomers discussed some of the big questions being raised and explored with #NASAWebb.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 5d ago

What do little red dots become as the universe ages? It’s been a question since they were discovered in the high-redshift universe by #NASAWebb in 2022. With each new observation, astronomers have gradually learned more about the nature of these mysterious red sources. (1/4) 🧵 🔭

$A rectangular image with thousands of galaxies of various shapes and colors on the black background of space. Some are noticeably spirals, either face-on or edge-on, while others are blobby ellipticals. Many are too small to discern any structure. One prominent foreground star at top center features Webb’s signature 8-point diffraction spikes. At upper right, a box shows a zoomed in portion of the image. The pullout features a spiral galaxy labeled “WISEA J123635.56+621424.2.” The galaxy has a bright yellow center and faint brown arms speckled with regions of blue that appear to wind clockwise around the galaxy’s core.$

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 5d ago

We are fewer than 30 days from the launch of #NASARoman! Roman is set to launch on August 30 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The telescope was assembled at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and had to travel to Kennedy for its launch. 🔭 Credit: NASA's GSFC; Music: “Unity for Liberty,” UPM

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 6d ago

On #NationalInternDay, we want to celebrate our 2026 Space Astronomy Summer Program students who spent their summer working with STScI researchers and staff! 🎉 Today they provided short presentations of their efforts at the SASP Symposium.

A group of people stand in two rows, smiling in a brightly lit room. Behind them, a framed image of the Orion Nebula is prominently displayed on the wall. The individuals are wearing name badges. Marble pillars can be seen on either side of the group.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 6d ago

Hubble has conducted two gigantic surveys that combined to image about two-thirds of the Andromeda’s disk. Using that data, astronomers measured 200 million individual stars to tease out the history of star formation in our neighboring galaxy. (1/6) 🧵 🔭

The left half of the disk of the Andromeda galaxy, with a jagged outer edge at the top and bottom on a black background. At right, the galaxy’s center is a horizontal yellow oval extending across about a third of the image. Two crescent shaped clumpy, dark dust lanes with abundant stars throughout extend out from the center. The galaxy becomes bluer as you move outward. At top middle, the satellite galaxy M32 appears as a small, fuzzy yellow oval. Within the disk of Andromeda, two regions at upper right and lower middle are outlined in small white boxes labeled 1 and 2, respectively. At the left side of the image, those two regions are enlarged in pullouts. Both contain a dense, grainy-appearing field of thousands of stars. Region 1 is noticeably bluer than region 2 and contains blue star-forming clumps.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 6d ago

STScI's Dr. Rachel Beaton will join this panel to explore Dr. Roman's scientific vision, leadership, philanthropy, and enduring influence on astronomy. 🔭

The Astro Society@astrosociety.org · 6d ago

FREE panel event kicking off our conference on Thursday, August 27 at 5pm PT/8pm ET! Celebrate the life & legacy of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman with a panel moderated by Dr. France Córdova, exploring Dr. Roman’s vision, leadership, philanthropy, & enduring influence on astronomy. Our esteemed panel:

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 6d ago

The countdown is on for the debut of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is named for NASA’s first chief astronomer. The Roman telescope is slated to launch on Aug. 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, per NASA. #NASARoman

Here's What The ‘Most Advanced Telescope Ever' Is Going to Reveal

The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope is expected to launch Aug. 30 and help unlock mysteries around dark matter, exoplanets and more.

today.com

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 6d ago

Hubble observed the Pistol Star in 1997, revealing an erupting star and the gas it expelled. The star is one of the brightest in our galaxy, but can only be seen in infrared because it is hidden behind great dust clouds at the core of the Milky Way: https://go.nasa.gov/4u6Sft7

A central pink point of light is surrounded by waves of magenta clouds coming from the star. Fuller magenta clouds are above the star in this image. The black background is filled with teal-colored bright points of light and a few pink ones.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · last wk.

NEWS: To learn more about distant little red dots (LRDs), scientists used #NASAWebb data of a nearby spiral galaxy with an LRD-like center and synthetically shifted it farther away. They found that the galaxy’s surrounding structure faded: https://news.stsci.edu/4h40rYo

Three squares angled slightly toward the left against a black background. The largest square is at left with a large hazy spiral galaxy in its center. The galaxy has a bright yellow center and faint brown arms speckled with regions of blue that appear to wind clockwise around the galaxy’s core. Text near the bottom of the square reads: Real, 10.4 billion years ago, z = 2. A set of two smaller squares appear near the top right. Each small square shows a small hazy red dot in the center against a black background, with the little red dot in the small left square a bit brighter than the dot in the right square. The small square on the left is labeled: Simulated, 13 billion years ago, z = 7. The small square on the right is labeled: Real. A set of lines connects the large square with the spiral galaxy and the simulated little red dot in the small square.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · last wk.

The Molten Ring galaxy is a gravitationally lensed galaxy 9.4 billion light-years away. A galaxy cluster 4 billion light-years away magnifies the light of the galaxy by a factor of 20, helping astronomers use Hubble to study its properties in more detail: http://bit.ly/49MnaDV

A galaxy cluster and a distorted galaxy that curves around it. A group of fuzzy golden dots of different sizes, the galaxy cluster, lies in the center. A thick, golden arc curves around this cluster from about 5 o’clock to 11 o’clock and another smaller arc curves around the cluster from about 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock. Smaller blue, red, and yellow galaxies of varying shapes and sizes are strewn about the black background of space.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · last wk.

Technicians completed fueling #NASARoman, bringing it an important step closer to launch. 🚀 On July 25, the team completed operations that carefully loaded 290 gallons of hydrazine fuel into the observatory at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA Fuels Roman Space Telescope for Late August Launch

Technicians have completed fueling NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, bringing it an important step closer to launch.

science.nasa.gov

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · last wk.

Step through 500 million years of star formation in the Andromeda galaxy. In this video, bright = high rate of new stars. New research using Hubble shows that Andromeda’s activity is winding down following a long-ago starburst: https://news.stsci.edu/3TBwkO9

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · last wk.

OPPORTUNITY: The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, is seeking a highly motivated Full Stack Software Engineer with strong experience in modern backend development, web technologies, DevSecOps, and data-driven application development: https://bit.ly/4fpcsX3

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · last wk.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 2w ago

Can you spot the hidden galaxy? The bright blue spiral arm of one galaxy appears to contain a dusty orange patch that is in fact an entire galaxy in itself, according to Hubble’s velocity data. Eventually all three may merge to form a single galaxy. Credit: NASA, ESA.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 2w ago

In 2022, we saw these three versions of the Pillars of Creation from #NASAWebb. Watch this explanation of how near- and mid-infrared data changes what we see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd4C9QzapDY Which is your favorite Pillars image? Tell us below! 👇

A rectangular image with three vertical panels. Each panel shows a different version of the Pillars of Creation. The left panel is labeled “Composite Image (NIRCam and MIRI)” and shows three well-defined finger-like dense clouds reaching toward the top right from a larger cloud on the bottom left. They are grey with streaks of brown, and occasional bright red spots. The background is orange toward the top left and has more purple and blue in the lower half. Stars are scattered through the panel.

The center panel, labeled “Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam),” shows the same cloudy figure, but the dense clouds are orange with dark orange streaks. The background is several shades of blue, from navy to bright royal blue. More and brighter stars are scattered through the background than in the composite image.

The right panel is labeled “Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)” and also displays the same finger-like clouds. The dense clouds have a murky bluish gray in this image, giving it more of a darker look. The background is several shades of dark orange with very few stars.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 2w ago

The solar panels that will help power #NASARoman completed prelaunch cleaning and inspections July 8 at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Telescope Milestone: Teams Check Out NASA Roman Solar Panels

The solar panels that will help power NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope completed prelaunch cleaning and inspections at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

science.nasa.gov

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 2w ago

TODAY at 4 p.m.: STScI's Dr. Macarena Garcia Marin will explore #NASAWebb's record-breaking performance, scientific breakthroughs, and astonishing discoveries. We will also look ahead and ask the questions that will shape Webb's future science.

youtube.com

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 2w ago

Protostar IRAS 04302+2247 will one day emerge from its “cocoon” of gas and dust. 🦋 #NASAWebb and Hubble looked at this baby star, capturing aspects like the protoplanetary disk and two wing-shaped reflection nebulas. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Villenave et. al.

Toward the top left is protostar IRAS 04302+2247, which looks like a butterfly against the black background of space. The nebula’s bright core is split by a narrow, vertical dark band, its “body.” Two rainbow lobes of light radiate outward from the dark band, shaped like butterfly wings. The right lobe is more diffuse and significantly larger than the left lobe, extending toward the bottom right. Numerous background galaxies and stars are visible across the field.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 3w ago

In a tidal disruption event, a supermassive black hole shreds a star that gets too close. #NASARoman will be able to spot these events in the early universe, up to 11 billion years ago: https://news.stsci.edu/4vxvz6Q

An illustration. At upper right is an outline of a bright orange circle, with a mostly black interior. The interior represents a black hole. Bright orange lines swirl several times around the circle, with one narrow orange band crossing in front, representing light that is gravitationally lensed by the black hole. To the right, set off by an orange and red haze, are irregular streaks of orange gas that fan out, arcing toward the viewer and all the way to the left. The line becomes more continuous toward the left, ending in what looks like a bright orange teardrop. This teardrop represents a star being shredded as it approached a black hole. Text at the lower right reads, artist’s concept.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 3w ago

NEWS: The case of Omega Centauri’s missing stellar-mass black holes is beginning to be solved with 20+ years of Hubble data and recent #NASAWebb data. Scientists detected a star in the cluster and found it to be orbiting a stellar-mass black hole: https://news.stsci.edu/3SUGysD

A Hubble image of globular star cluster Omega Centauri, which looks like a dense field of stars. Some stars appear a bit larger and brighter than others; most appear blue, orange, or yellow. The colors appear uniformly distributed, like grains of sand. Stars toward the cluster’s center are packed closer together, creating a more luminous area at the globular cluster’s core. A very small red square frame is superimposed on the cluster near the image’s center. It connects to a square pullout in the top-right corner, which shows the outlined area in greater detail. Among the blue- and orange-colored stars is a small blue-white dot highlighted by a small red circle.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 3w ago

A new planet has been found orbiting a nearby young star, Beta Pictoris. When studying the system with #NASAWebb, astronomers found the unmistakable fingerprint of a giant exoplanet where they did not expect it: https://news.stsci.edu/4aJ6IVl

Artist's concept of the Beta Pictoris planetary system. One edge of a smooth, dusty disk that looks like clouds extends across the upper third of the image at an angle from 9 o’clock to 2 o’clock. Just below that, in the left third of the image, the star glows white and is small. Just to the left of the star there is a tiny white dot, representing planet Beta Pictoris c. To the right of the star, about twice the distance between Beta Pictoris c and the star is another bright dot, representing planet Beta Pictoris b. A third planet, Beta Pictoris d is larger than the other two, and appears in the right third of the illustration. The planet has subtle orange cloud bands, and the side facing the star is illuminated. Below this planet, the other wispy edge of the dusty disk that circles the star crosses the bottom right corner of the illustration below Beta Pictoris d from 4 o’clock to 7 o’clock. The black background of space is speckled with distant stars.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 3w ago

The light of a distant quasar, RX J1131, has been warped by an elliptical galaxy, creating a jeweled ring in this #NASAWebb image. This is created by gravitational lensing, which occurs as light bends around massive objects. Credit: ESA, NASA, CSA, A. Nierenberg.

$Two galaxies, one of which is distorted into a blue ring that surrounds the other. At the top of the ring, there are three bright, fuzzy orange orbs, which each give off a dim diffraction pattern. At 7 o’clock on the ring, there is a dimmer orange orb. A bright blue dot is in the center of this ring. These objects are set on the black background of space.$