The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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In this image by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), a smattering of hundreds of background galaxies, varying in size and shape, appear alongside the Neptune system.
Neptune, when compared to Earth, is a big planet. If Earth were the size of a nickel, Neptune would be as big as a basketball. In most portraits, the outer planets of our Solar System reflect this otherworldly size. However, Neptune appears relatively small in a wide field of the vast Universe.
Towards the bottom left of this image, a barred spiral galaxy comes into focus. Scientists say this particular galaxy, previously unexplored in detail, is about 1200 million light years away. These types of galaxies at this relative difference are typically dominated by young stars that appear blueish in these wavelengths.