“A stunning new image of the universe has been created by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope, revealing a wealth of new details about the galaxy cluster MACS0416.
Located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, MACS0416 is a pair of colliding galaxy clusters that will eventually combine to form an even bigger cluster. The combined infrared and visible-light data from the telescopes yields a prismatic panorama of blues and reds – colors that offer clues to the distances of the galaxies.
The Webb and Hubble observations have led to groundbreaking new scientific discoveries, including the identification of gravitationally magnified supernovae and otherwise-invisible, ordinary stars. The image features a bounty of galaxies outside the cluster and a sprinkling of sources that vary over time, likely due to gravitational lensing.
The image also highlights one particular gravitationally lensed background galaxy, which existed about 3 billion years after the Big Bang. This galaxy contains a transient, or object that varies in observed brightness over time, which the science team nicknamed “Mothra.” Mothra is a star that is magnified by a factor of at least 4,000 times.
Researchers are calling the galaxy cluster MACS0416 the Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster, both because of its colorful appearance and the discovery of these flickering lights within it.
The team of astronomers identified 14 such transients in the field of view. Twelve of those transients were located in three galaxies that are highly magnified by gravitational lensing and are likely to be individual stars or multiple-star systems that are briefly very highly magnified. The remaining two transients are within more moderately magnified background galaxies and are likely to be supernovae.
Looking ahead, scientists believe that with regular monitoring, they could find many more additional transients in this cluster and others like it through Webb.
The discovery of the transient star system “Mothra” has also revealed the presence of an additional object within the foreground cluster, likely a globular star cluster, that is adding more magnification.
The combined power of Webb and Hubble has provided a clearer understanding of the universe by going farther into the early universe and uncovering new scientific findings. The image demonstrates the groundbreaking collaborations between observatories and paves the way for new discoveries in the study of space and beyond.”