--- title: "James Webb Catches a Glimpse of the Most Distant Star in the Universe" description: "The James Webb Space Telescope has snapped a photo of the most distant star in the known Universe — and even as a tiny dot, it's a sight to behold. " date: "2022-08-03" modified: "2022-08-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/james-webb-most-distant-star-glimpse" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "big bang" - "earendel" - "JWST" - "the digest" --- # James Webb Catches a Glimpse of the Most Distant Star in the Universe ![The James Webb Space Telescope has gotten a photo of the most distant star in the known Universe — and even as a tiny dot, it's a sight to behold. ]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Far, Far Away NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has snapped a photo of the most distant star in the known Universe some 12.9 billion light-years away — and even as a tiny dot, it's a sight to behold. A group of astronomers, who go by the name Cosmic Spring JWST, [posted]() the new image of the star named Earendel — which was named after a character in JRR Tolkien's novel "The Silmarillion" — to Twitter on Tuesday, pointing out that it's "the most distant star known." https://twitter.com/CosmicSprngJWST/status/1554575504161882112 ## Hubble Hubble The image, which was taken by the James Webb telescope over the weekend, isn't technically the first time we've gotten a glimpse of the star. Earendel [was first spotted]() by the telescope's predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, back in March. As NASA noted in [a statement]() at the time, the star existed within the first billion years after the Big Bang. The star is [located within the Cetus constellation](), which, in turn, is located in the Sunrise Arc galaxy, a galaxy named after its crescent shape. ## Bending Light The James Webb Space Telescope was able to spot the distant star thanks to gravitational lensing, taking advantage of massive galaxy clusters bending the light from objects behind them. In fact, Earendel perfectly aligned with the cluster in front of it. "That’s a really lucky alignment," Dan Coe at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland, and team member of the new discovery, [told *New Scientist*](). "Nobody’s ever seen a star this highly magnified, not to mention a galaxy." It's an astonishing new record. In fact, the star is more than ten billion light-years more distant than the next-furthest star we've ever seen, according to *New Scientist* — and the James Webb space telescope is only getting started. **More on the Webb telescope:** *[Incredible New James Webb Image Shows "Cartwheel Galaxy" in Glorious Detail]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()