JWST Discovered The Furthest Star Ever Observed!
Summary
This episode explores the discovery of Eärendel, the most distant individual star ever observed, located 28 billion light-years away. Discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope and confirmed by the James Webb Space Telescope, the star was visible due to extreme gravitational lensing by a foreground galaxy cluster. The discussion covers how this rare alignment allows astronomers to study early-universe stellar properties, potentially revealing if massive stars were more common in the cosmos's infancy.
Topics discussed
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Introduction: Finding the First Galaxies and Stars
The Limits of Telescopes and Gravitational Lensing
Discovery of Earendel and the RELICS Survey
Etymology of Earendel: Norse Myth and Tolkien
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Redshift, Distance, and Webb vs Hubble Capabilities
Visualizing Earendel and the Sunrise Arc Galaxy
How Gravitational Lensing Works: Weak vs Strong
Caustics and Extreme Magnification of Earendel
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Stellar Analysis: Type B Star and Binary Companion
Early Universe Star Formation and Massive Stars
Future Observations and Population Statistics
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Conclusion: Future Surveys and Cosmic Dawn
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