This image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the Carina Nebula. | Image: Nasa, ESA, CSA, STScI

Researchers who have been using the James Webb Space Telescope for their observations currently get a one-year ‘proprietary’ period in which only they have the right to analyse their data. But a debate has now begun about this practice, because it contradicts the open-data policies announced by the White House in August 2022. NASA is the principal institution supporting the James Webb, and it’s dependent on state funding. It now wants to shorten the proprietary period to six months initially, with a possible view to scrapping it later. In Scientific American, the astronomer Jason Wright sums up the arguments against NASA’s plans: those using the Telescope would in future be under pressure to publish their results quickly so that no one could beat them to it. That would reduce the quality of the research itself, and would be detrimental to researchers with other duties, such as looking after their kids or giving lectures.