Trending Now - James Webb Telescope Reveals Unmatched Detail of Cosmic Web

WHO:

Space.com - Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

futurity.org - Hossein Hatamnia, graduate student at University of California, Riverside and Carnegie Observatories, lead author of the study.

futurity.org - Bahram Mobasher, distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at UCR and Hatamnia’s advisor.

futurity.org - An international team of scientists from the US, Denmark, Chile, France, Finland, Switzerland, Japan, China, Germany, and Italy.

WHAT:

Space.com - The James Webb Space Telescope has mapped the "cosmic web" of galaxies in unprecedented detail.

futurity.org - The study produced the most detailed map of the cosmic web ever made.

futurity.org - The cosmic web is described as a vast, skeleton-like framework of interwoven filaments and sheets of dark matter and gas.

futurity.org - The COSMOS-Web survey is the largest General Observer program selected for JWST, covering an area of the sky about the size of three full Moons.

futurity.org - The study includes a catalog of 164,000 galaxies and their cosmic density.

WHERE:

futurity.org - The cosmic web links galaxies and clusters into a single, intricate structure across the universe.

WHEN:

futurity.org - The study traces the network of galaxies back to when the universe was one billion years old.

futurity.org - The JWST was launched in 2021.

WHY:

futurity.org - The JWST has transformed astronomy with its extraordinary sensitivity and sharpness, allowing scientists to see further back in time than ever before.

HOW:

futurity.org - The COSMOS-Web survey was designed to map the cosmic web using the JWST's infrared instruments to detect faint, distant galaxies.

futurity.org - The telescope measures distances to galaxies more precisely, allowing for better placement in cosmic time and sharpening the map’s resolution.

futurity.org - The large-scale structure maps are being released publicly in keeping with COSMOS’s tradition of open science.

(UPDATED May 15, 2026 13:30 UTC)

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have created the most detailed map of the cosmic web ever made, revealing a vast, skeleton-like framework of interwoven filaments and sheets of dark matter and gas. This groundbreaking study, led by graduate student Hossein Hatamnia from the University of California, Riverside, includes a catalog of 164,000 galaxies and traces their network back to when the universe was just one billion years old. The COSMOS-Web survey, which covers an area of the sky about the size of three full Moons, is part of a tradition of open science, with large-scale structure maps being released to the public.