Sunrise Arc Zoom-In (NIRCam Image)

Sunrise Arc Zoom-In (NIRCam Image)

This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137-08, and at the right, an inset of the most strongly magnified galaxy known in the universe’s first billion years: the Sunrise Arc. Within that galaxy is the most distant star ever detected, first discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument reveals the star, nicknamed Earendel, to be a massive B-type star more than twice as hot as our Sun, and about a million times more luminous. Stars of this mass often have companions. Astronomers did not expect Webb to reveal any companions of Earendel since they would be so close together and indistinguishable on the sky. However, based solely on the colors of Earendel detected by Webb, astronomers think they see hints of a cooler companion star.

Credits

Image

NASA, ESA, CSA

Science

Dan Coe (STScI/AURA for ESA, JHU), Brian Welch (NASA-GSFC, UMD)

Image Processing

Zolt G. Levay

About The Object
Object Name WHL-J24.3324-8.477, Earendel
Object Description Galaxy cluster with gravitational lensing and distant star
R.A. Position 01:37:23.23
Dec. Position -08:27:52.20
Constellation Cetus
Distance The star is approximately 12.9 billion light-years away.
About The Data
Data Description This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (J. Coe)
Instrument NIRCam
Exposure Dates 30 July 2022, 01 Jan 2023
Filters F090W, F115W, F150W, F200W, F277W, F356W, F410M, F444W
About The Image
Color Info This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample specific wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:  Blue: F090W + F115W + F150W, Cyan: F200W, Green: F277W, Yellow: F356W, Orange: F410M,  Red: F444W
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.

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