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⇱ Cosmic Origins - NASA Science

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👁 What looks like a single large, bright star (but is two) shines with bright purple diffraction spikes at the center of a large, diffuse cylinder of gas and dust that is tipped to the right. At the center is a bright pink clumpy cloud that takes up about 25% of the view. The pink region has some holes and diffuse areas. Beyond that are two large rings seen at a roughly 60-degree angle that appear joined at top left and bottom right. The edges are denser, and form shallow V-shapes that go inward. The rings appear orange at top left and bottom right, and are blue at bottom and center right. There is diffuse orange material around the body. The black background of space is speckled with tiny stars and galaxies mostly in blues and yellows. A bigger blue star with spikes is just below and to the left of the central stars, but it is slightly smaller. Areas Webb did not observe are along the top edges, a thin vertical near the nebula at top left, and at the bottom left and right corners.

Cosmic Origins

How did we get here? Answering this question is the key goal of the Cosmic Origins Program and one of the overarching goals of NASA Astrophysics. 

Answering the hard questions

How did we get here?

Answering this question is the key goal of the Cosmic Origins Program and one of the overarching goals of NASA Astrophysics. As a cornerstone of NASA Astrophysics, the program studies the universe from its beginning in the Big Bang, through the formation of stars and galaxies, to the creation of the elements forged within those stars. By tracing how these elements gave rise to planets and, ultimately, to life, Cosmic Origins connects the story of the cosmos to our own existence.

👁 Colorful butterfly-shaped nebula.
NASA, ESA, Joel Kastner (RIT)

Latest News & Events

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IR STIG Seminar Series, 6 April 2026

The ALMA Survey to Resolve exoKuiper Belt Substructures. Speaker Sebastian Marino Estay, University of Exeter UK

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AI/ML STIG Lecture Series, 6 April 2026

Simulation-Based Inference Speaker Tomasz Rozanski, ANU Meeting Connection Join the Meeting

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DGCE SIG Seminar, 23 April 2026

Potential Diffuse Gas Science Cases and Instrument Goals for UV Imaging and Spectroscopy with HWO. Speaker: Kevin France (LASP)

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IR STIG Seminar Series, 4 May 2026

SPHEREx Wide-Field Infrared Spectral Mapping of Interstellar Ices and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

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HWO SIG Seminar, 1 April 2026

Habitable Worlds Observatory SIG Seminar. 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT

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Galaxies SIG Seminar, 1 April 2026

From Jets to Fountains: How Black Holes Shape Galactic Gas across Cosmic Time. Speaker: Namrata Roy (ASU)

Featured Story

NASA’s Hubble Captures Light Show Around Rapidly Dying Star

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👁 In the image center, an opaque oval cloud of gray gas aligned from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock hides a star. Two strong beams of light from the star emerge from large holes in both sides of the cloud, forming narrow cones extending toward 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock. The central cloud is surrounded by concentric, wispy shells of gas illuminated by the star’s light. The shells reflect extra light where they’re hit by the twin beams. A crowd of smaller stars with cross-shaped spikes over them surrounds the nebula on a black background.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula. This structure of gas and dust was created by a dying, Sun-like star. These newest observations were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.
NASA, ESA, Bruce Balick (UWashington)

Latest Podcast

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 139: NASA's Cosmic Origins Program

NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program seeks to understand the origins of the universe, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planets. In this episode, Dr. Swara Ravindranath, deputy chief scientist, and Dr. Ron Gamble, a theoretical astrophysicist, discuss their research and the program's goals. They also highlight the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences.

Learn More about Latest Podcast
👁 An illustration of an astronaut jumping from the moon toward Mars.

Featured Videos

XRISM Exploring the Hidden X-ray Cosmos

Watch this video to learn more about XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission), a collaboration between JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA.

Expansion Rate: The Hubble Tension

In this video, Nobel Laureate Dr. Adam Riess explains this phenomenon known as “Hubble Tension,” and how important this mystery is to our understanding of the universe.

Mystery of Galaxy’s Missing Dark Matter Deepens

Finding a galaxy lacking the invisible stuff is an extraordinary claim that challenges conventional wisdom. It would have the potential to upset theories of galaxy formation and evolution.

A New Portrait of the Cosmos is Coming

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, formerly known as WFIRST, is an upcoming space telescope designed to perform wide-field imaging and spectroscopy of the infrared sky.

Eye on Infinity: NASA Celebrates Hubble’s 35th Year in Orbit

After more than three decades of perusing the universe, Hubble remains a household name — the most well-recognized and scientifically productive telescope in history. The Hubble mission is a glowing success story of America’s technological prowess, unyielding scientific curiosity, and a reiteration of our nation’s pioneering spirit.

Read More about Eye on Infinity: NASA Celebrates Hubble’s 35th Year in Orbit
👁 Composite shows portions of four Hubble images from left to right. First, the left half of Mars in shades of orange, blues, and browns. Second, a tiny portion of the Rosette Nebula shows very dark gray material against a translucent blue background. Third, a portion of planetary nebula NGC 2899 looks like the number three in shades of red and orange. Fourth, the center of barred spiral galaxy NGC 5335 has a milky yellow center that forms a bar surrounded by the beginnings of blue star-filled spiral arms.

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👁 Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.