James Webb telescope captures one of the deepest-ever views of the universe — Space photo of the week
Quick facts
What it is: The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, revisited by the James Webb Space Telescope
Where it is: Close to the Big Dipper in the night sky
When it was shared: Aug. 1, 2025
The James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) latest extragalactic survey has revealed fainter and more distant objects than ever before, some dating back to the earliest periods of the universe. But it stands on the shoulders of a giant: When NASA published the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image in 2004, it stunned the world of astronomy. A composite of 800 images from exposures totaling 11 days, the deep image of an otherwise unremarkable part of the night sky revealed nearly 10,000 galaxies, many among the most distant known.
Now, JWST has observed that same patch of sky with different eyes — and found 2,500 more objects. Crucially, they're even more distant.
JWST's new take on the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, named the MIRI Deep Imaging Survey (MIDIS), is the deepest-ever mid-infrared image of that part of the night sky.
The extraordinary new image is the result of nearly 100 hours of observing time using the space observatory's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). It includes hundreds of extremely red galaxies, some of which may date back to less than a billion years after the Big Bang.
Related: 42 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images
At the core of the composite image is one ultralong exposure. Using just one of MIRI's filters, JWST took an exposure of the night sky for 41 hours — the longest single-filter observation it has performed of an extragalactic field to date. The plan was to capture galaxies in mid-infrared light — something neither Hubble nor human eyes can detect — which also revealed previously unseen regions of dust and old, red stars.
More space photos
—NASA unveils 9 stunning snapshots of the cosmos in X-ray vision
—Astronomers witness a newborn planet emerging from the dust around a sun-like star
—'Fighting dragons' light up little-known constellation in the Southern sky
Capturing light in wavelengths beyond the capabilities of human vision always brings a problem: How can we even begin to look at it? Processing such images requires filters that assign a different color to each different wavelength of light. In this image, galaxies rich in dust and star-forming activity are orange and red, extremely distant compact galaxies are greenish, and galaxies bright in the near-infrared are blue and cyan.
Researchers described the image in a paper in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, along with a slider tool, a pan video and a transition video with the Hubble Ultra Deep Field for comparison.
For more sublime space images, check out our Space Photo of the Week archives.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBS News
3 hours ago
- CBS News
Perseids meteor shower will peak this week. But will the moon ruin it for viewers?
The Perseids meteor shower — considered one of the best shows in the sky — is set to peak this week. But the peak for fireballs shooting through the night sky coincides this year with a bright moon that is expected to negatively impact visibility for eager viewers. The Perseids peak in 2025 is Aug. 12-13, specifically early Wednesday for those in North America. At that time, the moon will be 84% full, according to the American Meteor Society. "In 2025, the waning gibbous moon will severely compromise this shower at the time of maximum activity," the organization says. "Such conditions will reduce activity by at least 75 percent as only the brighter meteors will be visible." Viewers this year can expect to see between 10-20 Perseids each hour, as opposed to 50 Perseids per hour under darker conditions, it says. "The strength of each Perseid display varies year to year, mainly due to lunar conditions," writes Robert Lunsford with the American Meteor Society. "If a bright moon is above the horizon during the night of maximum activity, then the display will be reduced. Most of the Perseid meteors are faint and bright moonlight will make it difficult to view." The Perseids meteor shower has been ongoing for several weeks. It started in mid-July and will continue until Aug. 23. A planetarium program coordinator at a museum in St. Paul, Minnesota, is advising people to instead go out a week or so past the peak when the moon isn't so bright. The Perseids "are an incredible meteor shower," Thaddeus LaCoursiere, of the Bell Museum, told The Associated Press. NASA says the best time to view the Perseids is early in the morning, before the sun comes up, in the Northern Hemisphere. However, meteors sometimes can be seen as early as 10 p.m. When looking at the Perseids, they appear to come from the constellation Perseus, which is why this meteor shower has its name. But the meteors don't originate from the constellation; they are space debris left by a comet. That debris interacts with Earth's atmosphere, disintegrating and resulting in colorful lines in the sky, according to NASA and the American Meteor Society. "The pieces of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the Perseids originate from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle," which last visited the inner solar system in 1992, NASA says. During peak, Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the Earth will pass closest to the core orbit of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, Lunsford writes. "To view the Perseids successfully, it is suggested you watch from a safe rural area that is as dark as possible," he says. "The more stars you can see, the more meteors will also be visible."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Moon phase today: What the moon will look like on August 10, 2025
The moon is still looking big and bright in the sky after last night's full moon, so what can we see? Keep reading to find out what's going on with the lunar phase now. The lunar phase is a series of eight unique phases of the moon's visibility. The whole cycle takes about 29.5 days, according to NASA, and these different phases happen as the Sun lights up different parts of the moon whilst it orbits Earth. So, what's happening with the moon tonight, Aug. 10? What is today's moon phase? As of Sunday, Aug. 10, the moon phase is Waning Gibbous, and it is 98% lit up to us on Earth, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation. There's still lots to see tonight, including the Mare Fecunditatis, the Copernicus Crater, and the Oceanus Procellarum, all visible with the naked eye. With the addition of binoculars and a telescope, you'll see much more, so if you have either, pull them out for tonight. Binoculars will give you a glimpse of the Grimaldi Basin, while a telescope will let you see the Descartes Highlands. When is the next full moon? The next full moon will be on Sept. 7. The last full moon was on Aug. 9. What are moon phases? According to NASA, moon phases are caused by the 29.5-day cycle of the moon's orbit, which changes the angles between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Moon phases are how the moon looks from Earth as it goes around us. We always see the same side of the moon, but how much of it is lit up by the Sun changes depending on where it is in its orbit. This is how we get full moons, half moons, and moons that appear completely invisible. There are eight main moon phases, and they follow a repeating cycle: New Moon - The moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye). Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere). First Quarter - Half of the moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-moon. Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it's not quite full yet. Full Moon - The whole face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible. Waning Gibbous - The moon starts losing light on the right side. Last Quarter (or Third Quarter) - Another half-moon, but now the left side is lit. Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Meteorite identified after crashing into Georgia home
ATHENS, Ga. – A meteorite that streaked across the sky of the Southeast and ended up crashing into a Georgia home has now been studied by researchers at the University of Georgia. The space debris, now known as the "McDonough Meteorite," crashed through Earth's atmosphere on June 26, creating a large fireball before damaging a home outside of Atlanta. Scott Harris, a planetary geologist and impact expert with UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, examined fragments that were recovered from the scene and traced their composition to around 4.5 billion years ago – long before the formation of Earth. "It belongs to a group of asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that we now think we can tie to a breakup of a much larger asteroid about 470 million years ago," Harris told the university's news service. "But in that breakup, some pieces get into Earth-crossing orbits, and if given long enough, their orbit around the sun and Earth's orbit around the sun end up being at the same place, at the same moment in time." See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon The incoming meteor quickly broke apart when it sailed through Earth's atmosphere, with the largest piece that struck the Henry County home estimated to be the size of a cherry tomato. Despite its small size, the meteorite was large enough to leave behind a hole in the roof, damage to HVAC ductwork and a significant dent in the wood floor. No one was injured during the incident, but the impact was said to be as loud as a gunshot. The UGA was granted access to study 23 grams of the 50 grams recovered from the home and is working in coordination with Arizona State University on further research. According to the UGA, the event was the 27th meteorite that has been recovered in the Peach State. "This is something that used to be expected once every few decades and not multiple times within 20 years," Harris stated. "Modern technology in addition to an attentive public is going to help us recover more and more meteorites." Did The National Weather Service Capture A Photo Of Bigfoot During A Pennsylvania Storm Survey? The latest update won't be the final word on the McDonough Meteorite, as Harris and his team plan to publish a paper detailing the object's composition and dynamics. Additional recovered pieces of the meteorite are scheduled to go on display at the Tellus Science Museum near Atlanta. The university did not state if the homeowner has completed repairs to his property, but damage caused by a meteorite usually falls under a standard insurance article source: Meteorite identified after crashing into Georgia home