Most distant star ever detected seen by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope detects Earendel, the most distant known star in the universe. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/AURA for ESA/Johns Hopkins University

Hubble was able to find Earendel thanks to a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.

This occurs when the gravitational field of a massive object, such as a galaxy or, in this case, a huge star, bends and distorts the path of light from a background object, such as a more distant galaxy or quasar. This bending of light creates a lens-like effect, magnifying and sometimes even distorting the appearance of the background object.

Researchers estimate that Earendel is at least 50 times the mass of the Sun and millions of times brighter.

“But even such a brilliant, very high-mass star would be impossible to see at such a great distance without the aid of natural magnification by a huge galaxy cluster, WHL0137-08, sitting between us and Earendel,”