Galaxy cluster MACS j1149.5+223

This image shows the huge galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+223, whose light took over 5 billion years to reach us.

The huge mass of the cluster is bending the light from more distant objects. The light from these objects has been magnified and distorted due to gravitational lensing. The same effect is creating multiple images of the same distant objects.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found the most distant star ever discovered. The hot blue star existed only 4.4 billion years after the Big Bang. This discovery provides new insight into the formation and evolution of stars in the early Universe, the constituents of galaxy clusters and also on the nature of dark matter.

Go to Hubble uses cosmic lens to discover most distant star ever observed [heic1525] to learn more.