Overview of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES)

Journal article

We present an overview of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), an ambitious program of infrared imaging and spectroscopy in the GOODS-S and GOODS-N deep fields, designed to study galaxy evolution from high redshift to cosmic noon. JADES uses about 770 hr of Cycle 1 guaranteed time largely from the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument teams. In GOODS-S, in and around the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and Chandra Deep Field South, JADES produces a deep imaging region of ∼42 arcmin2 with over 100 hr of exposure time spread over nine NIRCam filters, including two medium-band filters. This is extended at medium depth in GOODS-S and GOODS-N with NIRCam imaging of ∼167 arcmin2, averaging 25 hr of exposure over 8–10 filters. In both fields, we conduct extensive NIRSpec multiobject spectroscopy, including two deep pointings of 55 hr exposure time, 14 medium pointings of ∼12 hr, and 15 shallower pointings of ∼4 hr, targeting over 5000 Hubble Space Telescope– and JWST-detected faint sources with five low-, medium-, and high-resolution dispersers covering 0.6–5.3 μm. Finally, JADES extends redward via coordinated parallels with the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument, featuring ∼10 arcmin2 with 43 hr of exposure at 7.7 μm and thrice that area with 1.4–6.8 hr of exposure at 12.8 and 15 μm. For nearly 30 yr, the GOODS-S and GOODS-N fields have been developed as the premier deep fields on the sky; JADES is now providing a compelling start on JWST's legacy in these fields.

Authors: Eisenstein, DJ; Willott, C; Alberts, S; Arribas, S; Bonaventura, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Astronomical Society
• Journal: The Astrophysical Journal: Supplement Series
• Volume: 283
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 6
• Article number: 6
• Publication date: 2026-02-11
• Acceptance date: 2025-12-17
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4365/ae3163
• EISSN: 1538-4365
• ISSN: 0067-0049
• Language: English
• Keywords: Lyman-break galaxies; Sky surveys; Galaxy evolution