Located some 28 billion light-years away (thanks to the expanding universe), this 12.9-billion-year-old star, named Earendel, is between 50 and 500 times as massive as the Sun — and millions of times as bright. SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, Brian Welch (JHU), Dan Coe (STScI) IMAGE PROCESSING: NASA, ESA, Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

This detailed view highlights the star Earendel’s position along a ripple in space-time (dotted line) that magnifies it and makes it possible for the star to be detected over such a great distance—nearly 13 billion light-years. Also indicated is a cluster of stars that is mirrored on either side of the line of magnification. The distortion and magnification are created by the mass of a huge galaxy cluster located in between Hubble and Earendel. The mass of the galaxy cluster is so great that it warps the fabric of space, and looking through that space is like looking through a magnifying glass—along the edge of the glass or lens, the appearance of things on the other side are warped as well as magnified. Credits: Science: NASA, ESA, Brian Welch (JHU), Dan Coe (STScI); Image processing: NASA, ESA, Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

The star Earendel, indicated by the arrow, and the Sunrise Arc galaxy, stretching from lower left to upper right, optically bends due to a massive galaxy cluster between it and the Hubble Space Telescope which captured the light. (NASA)