Earendel: A Star in the Early Universe
Explanation:
Is Earendel the farthest star yet discovered?
This scientific possibility started when the
Hubble Space Telescope observed a huge
cluster of galaxies.
The gravitational lens effectбof this cluster was seen to
magnify and distort a galaxy far in the background.
This distorted background galaxy -- so far away it has a
redshift of 6.2 -- appears in the
featured image as a long red string,
while beads on that string are likely to be star clusters.бб
The
galaxy cluster lens
creates a line of maximum magnification line where
superposed background objects may appear magnified many thousands of times.
On the intersection between the galaxy line and the maximum magnification line is
one "bead" which shows evidence of originating from a
single bright star in the early universe -- now named
Earendel.
Future investigations may include more imagingбby Hubble to see how
Earendel's brightness varies, and, quite possibly, by the new
James Webb Space Telescope when it
becomes operational later this year.б
Earendel's
great distance exceeds that of any known stable star --
although the star that exploded creating
GRB 090423 had a
redshift of 8.2.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
