JWST Uncovers Spectacular Insights into Earendel, the Farthest Star

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured new details of Earendel, the oldest and most distant star known. Earendel, estimated to be 12.9 billion years old, was first detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2022. JWST's observations, aided by gravitational lensing, revealed that Earendel is incredibly far away, huge, and bright. The telescope also detected hints of a cooler, redder companion star nearby. Additionally, JWST found evidence of star-forming regions and older star clusters within the Sunrise Arc galaxy, where Earendel is located. Astronomers hope to learn more about the formation and evolution of early stars in the universe from this data.