James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes snap images of same nebula, 10 years apart
Andrew Paul
created: Dec. 22, 2025, 5:01 p.m. | updated: Jan. 1, 2026, 5:02 p.m.
In 2015, NASA celebrated the Hubble Space Telescope’s 25th year in orbit by releasing one of its most stunning images to date—a colorful star cluster in the constellation Carina known as Westerlund 2.
In January 2023, the HST’s observational capabilities were overtaken when the powerful James Webb Space Telescope imaged the same star cluster.
Transition Video: Webb and Hubble's views of Westerlund 2Westerlund 2’s young stellar objects are ejecting powerful waves of radiation in all directions, twisting and entangling the large, surrounding gaseous clouds.
The JWST’s latest look at Westerlund 2 is more than simply a pretty picture.
Astronomers can now begin studying how these stellar objects’ surrounding discs form over time, as well as how planets arrive in such huge star clusters.
3 weeks, 1 day ago: Popular Science