NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captures the dazzling star birth in Pismis 24, a vibrant young star cluster in the Lobster Nebula, 5,500 light-years away in Scorpius. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) 

Imagine two cosmic dancers locked in an eternal embrace, their gravitational pull sparking fireworks of new stars across a luminous bridge of gas. This stunning real observation captures NGC 4490 and NGC 4485—the closest known dwarf-dwarf interacting pair—located 24 million light-years away. JWST's NIRCam and MIRI instruments reveal vibrant turquoise starbursts and pink ionized gas, illuminating how tidal forces fuel galaxy evolution in the early universe.This image, hailed as a masterpiece of cosmic interaction, shows the raw power of mergers shaping smaller galaxies like building blocks of the cosmos. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo, FEAST JWST team. Learn More: James Webb Captures Stunning Dance of Dwarf Galaxies NGC 4490 & NGC 4485

In a scene straight out of ancient mythology, JWST uncovered four coiled dust shells swirling around the chaotic triple star system Apep—named after the Egyptian serpent god. These serpentine patterns, ejected over centuries by two massive Wolf-Rayet stars and shaped by a third companion, glow in mid-infrared light, revealing carbon-rich dust essential for forming planets.This first-of-its-kind capture exposes the violent winds of dying giants, a rare laboratory for understanding how heavy elements seed future worlds. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Yinuo Han (Caltech), Ryan White (Macquarie University), Alyssa Pagan (STScI). Learn More: James Webb Telescope Discovers Four Giant Dust Shells Spiraling Around Apep

At the heart of the Lobster Nebula, JWST peers into Pismis 24, a dazzling young cluster where massive stars blast away dust, carving dramatic orange spires and illuminating thousands of jewel-like stars. This vibrant nursery, just 5,500 light-years away, offers rare insights into the birth and evolution of the universe's heaviest suns. The towering peaks point toward the brilliant central star Pismis 24-1, once thought to be the most massive known—now revealed as a multiple system. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI). Learn More: James Webb Space Telescope Unveils Star Birth in Pismis 24

JWST celebrated its third science anniversary by delving into the heart of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a turbulent stellar nursery 4,000 light-years away. Infrared light peels back dusty veils to expose massive young stars carving "toe bean"-like pillars, with glowing gas and embedded protostars painting a chaotic canvas of birth.This vivid real view highlights the ferocious energy turning molecular clouds into suns, mirroring conditions in the universe's youthful eras. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Learn More: James Webb Telescope Unveils Cat’s Paw Nebula’s Cosmic Toe Beans

The iconic Sombrero Galaxy gets a dramatic makeover in JWST's mid-infrared gaze, transforming its classic brim into a bullseye of clumpy dust and hidden activity. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons sparkle in the outer ring, while the core hides behind a smooth veil—offering fresh clues to dust's role in building stars and planets. This authentic observation redefines a familiar sight, probing the dusty engines driving spiral galaxies. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Learn More: James Webb Telescope Unveils Stunning New Insights into the Sombrero Galaxy

JWST reveals the messy splendor of NGC 6072, where multiple outflows expand at odd angles from a dying Sun-like star, suggesting a hidden companion star twisted its shape. Circular shells and equatorial disks glow in near- and mid-infrared, previewing our Sun's fate in billions of years.This complex scene challenges simple models of stellar death, showing binary interactions create some of the universe's most irregular nebulae. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Learn More: James Webb Telescope Reveals Intricate Beauty of Planetary Nebula NGC 6072

Seen edge-on, the disk around young star HH 30 hides its central protostar while powerful jets blast outward, illuminated by shockwaves. JWST's detailed view traces dust grain sizes and winds, offering a prototype for how planets coalesce from swirling chaos—just like in our early solar system. This dynamic snapshot captures the turbulent birth of worlds in a nearby molecular cloud. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, Tazaki et al. Learn More: James Webb Space Telescope Unveils Stunning Image of HH 30

JWST captured the fading glow of GRB 250314A, the oldest confirmed supernova—exploding just 730 million years after the Big Bang. This record-breaking view peers into the universe's infancy, revealing a massive star's violent death and its small host galaxy amid reionization's turmoil. A beacon from cosmic dawn, this image shatters previous records and illuminates the first generations of stars. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Andrew Levan (Radboud University); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI). Learn More: James Webb Telescope Finds Earliest Supernova Ever: GRB 250314A (2025)

JWST's NIRCam pierced the veil of the Red Spider Nebula, capturing outstretched lobes traced by molecular hydrogen and dramatic jets forming a purple 'S' at its core. This planetary nebula, forged in the final throes of a Sun-like star, shimmers with never-before-seen complexity. A haunting portrait of stellar death in fiery elegance. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (Rochester Institute of Technology). Learn More: The Red Spider Nebula, caught by Webb

JWST captured mesmerizing expanding light echoes around Cassiopeia A, the remnant of a supernova that exploded over 300 years ago. These ghostly rings of infrared light illuminate surrounding dust as the original explosion's flash continues to ripple outward—like watching a historical event in slow motion.This ethereal view turns a well-known remnant into a dynamic time-lapse of cosmic illumination, revealing hidden dust structures light-years away. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC). Learn More: James Webb Reveals Stunning Light Echoes of Cassiopeia A