James Webb telescope gives unprecedented open access to images of the deep universe
COSMOS-Web was the largest General Observer programme selected for Cycle 1 of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), including imagery from some 255 hours of observation. The survey has captured some of the rarest objects in the universe, and now these images and supporting data are available for scientists – and the public alike – to delve in and make further discoveries.
As part of this major international release, which draws on expertise from 95 universities and research institutions worldwide, two companion research papers led by astrophysicist Ghassem Gozaliasl from Aalto University demonstrate the scientific potential of the new COSMOS2025 catalog.
‘This public release of the largest deep space catalogue ever created is a remarkable step for science and society. It democratizes access to the early universe, enabling not only scientists but also students, educators, and the public to explore our cosmic origins interactively,’ says Gozaliasl. ‘It’s especially exciting that researchers from Finland have contributed to this effort — showcasing how global collaboration and open science are shaping the future of discovery.’
Gozaliasl’s latest research focuses on how galaxies grow and evolve across cosmic time, using JWST’s unprecedented imaging capabilities and modern machine learning tools.
‘Thanks to JWST and the COSMOS-Web survey, we can now trace how galaxies shut down star formation, undergo morphological transformation, and how these processes are shaped by their environment across cosmic time, even predicting galaxy properties using AI-driven methods,’ he says.
The catalogue’s public launch was announced by Rochester Institute of Technology on June 5, 2025. Read more here.
This news item was originally published on the Aalto University website on 6.6.2025
Read more news
Emotions help explain why people click phishing emails
People are currently taught to recognise phishing attempts in ways that may be counterproductive. Researchers call for information security training to take emotions into account more effectively.
New podcast explores Finnish contributions to artificial intelligence
In Aalto University's podcast “Ja ihminen loi älyn” (And humankind created intelligence), researchers Arno Solin ja Eric Malmi interview pioneers, entrepreneurs and experts about the AI field's history, disruptive consequences and the probability of humanity's destruction.
AI model captures how humans read, paving the way to personalised text and better augmented reality
Researchers now understand not just how our eyes move when we read, but also how we build meaning from text. The new model could hold the key to developing highly customisable applications that adapt to different types of reader.