Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 April 6 [2]The featured image depicts a star in the distant universe that has been magnified by a foreground cluster of galaxies to appear over one thousand times brighter here on Earth. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Earendel: A Star in the Early Universe Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]B. Welch ([6]JHU), [7]D. Coe ([8]STScI); Processing: [9]A. Pagan ([10]STScI) Explanation: Is Earendel the farthest star yet discovered? This [11]scientific possibility started when the [12]Hubble Space Telescope observed a huge [13]cluster of galaxies. The [14]gravitational lens effect of this cluster was seen to [15]magnify and distort a galaxy far in the background. This distorted background galaxy -- so far away it has a [16]redshift of 6.2 -- appears in the [17]featured image as a long red string, while beads on that string are likely to be star clusters. The [18]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 [19]single bright star in the early universe -- now named Earendel. Future [20]investigations may include more imaging by Hubble to see how [21]Earendel's brightness varies, and, quite possibly, by the new [22]James Webb Space Telescope when it [23]becomes operational later this year. Earendel's [24]great distance exceeds that of any known stable star -- although the star that exploded creating [25]GRB 090423 had a [26]redshift of 8.2. Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [27]< | [28]Archive | [29]Submissions | [30]Index | [31]Search | [32]Calendar | [33]RSS | [34]Education | [35]About APOD | [36]Discuss | [37]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [38]Robert Nemiroff ([39]MTU) & [40]Jerry Bonnell ([41]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [42]Specific rights apply. [43]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [44]ASD at [45]NASA / [46]GSFC & [47]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2204/LensedStar_Hubble_960.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.esa.int/ 5. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-welch-29b782119 6. https://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/ 7. https://www.dancoe.space/ 8. https://www.stsci.edu/ 9. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-pagan-058170144 10. https://www.stsci.edu/ 11. https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-003 12. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100502.html 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_lens 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190319.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130408.html 17. https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2022/003/01FWS5FJ468Q4HV8C67PEQPVND 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170506.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180411.html 20. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04449-y 21. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/science/hubble-star-big-bang.html 22. https://jwst.nasa.gov/ 23. https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/faqLite.html 24. https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/surprised-cat-picture-id154887818 25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRB_090423 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130408.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220405.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 36. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220406 37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220407.html 38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 39. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 40. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 41. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 43. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 44. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 45. https://www.nasa.gov/ 46. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 47. http://www.mtu.edu/