Webb telescope confirms Hubble's distant star discovery
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has confirmed and built upon the Hubble Space Telescope's groundbreaking discovery of Earendel, the most distant star ever observed.
First glimpsed by Hubble, Earendel shines from just a billion years after the Big Bang—so we're basically looking back in time!
Thanks to a galaxy cluster acting like a cosmic magnifying glass, this super-hot, super-bright B-type star is visible even across such mind-boggling distance.
JWST's observations of Earendel
JWST didn't just spot Earendel—it also picked up hints of a possible companion star and new details in its home galaxy, Sunrise Arc.
These discoveries are helping scientists piece together how stars and galaxies formed in the early universe, showing off just how powerful JWST really is for exploring cosmic history.