James Webb Catches a Glimpse of the Most Distant Star in the Universe

Even as a tiny dot, the most distant star in the known universe is a sight to behold.

The new image of the star named Earendel, which was named after a character in JRR Tolkien's novel "The Silmarillion", was posted by a group of astronomy enthusiasts.

You can see Earendel as it's lensed by the cluster, WHL0137-08, in the center of the image! Here is a zoom-in on the star itself! Stay tuned for an update from the science team! pic.twitter.com/3mfYZ0WTNg

— Cosmic Spring JWST (@CosmicSprngJWST) August 2, 2022

Hubble Hubble

We've seen a glimpse of the star before, but this is the first time we've seen it in person.

Earendel was first seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. The star existed within the first billion years after the Big bang, according to NASA.

The star is located in the Cetus constellation, which is also known as the Sunrise Arc galaxy.

Bending Light

The telescope was able to spot the distant star thanks to its ability to see light from objects behind it.

Earendel was in line with the cluster in front of it. Dan Coe, a member of the new discovery, told New Scientist that it was a lucky alignment. Nobody has ever seen a star this large.

This is a new record. The next-furthest star we've ever seen is more than ten billion light-years away.

There is a new image showing theCartwheelGalaxy in glorious detail.