Earendel Star Insights: Discoveries by #JWST

 The James Webb Space Telescope has unlocked new insights into the universe's most distant star, Earendel. Initially discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope, Earendel's intricate details have been unveiled by the Webb's NIRCam instrument, showcasing the star's mass and type. Nested within the galaxy, Arc of Sunrise, Earendel's light has journeyed for 12.9 billion years, only visible through a gravitational lens birthed by the galaxy cluster WHL0137-08. 

This astral magnifying glass, caused by the cluster's distortion of spacetime, amplifies Earendel's light, offering an impressive view of the star as a single, bright spot in the Webb's image[1][2]. Astronomers suggest that Earendel's light underwent a magnification of at least 4,000 times, positioning the star as a B-type, twice as hot and a million times brighter than our sun[1].

Unexpectedly, the star's colors hint at the presence of a cooler, redder star nearby, an anomaly as astronomers did not anticipate finding another object near Earendel[1]. The NIRCam instrument also revealed intriguing details about the star's galaxy, such as star formation areas and small star clusters, extended by gravitational lensing[1]. These findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, underscore the incredible potential of the James Webb Space Telescope in advancing our understanding of the universe[1].

References: [1] James Webb Space Telescope sees Earendel, most ... [2] Webb space telescope glimpses most distant star known to exist [3] James Webb Telescope rediscovers Earendel, the farthest ...