JWST Explores the Cosmic Seahorse & Catches Gravitational Lensing

This image was captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) using its NIRCam, which is Webb’s primary near-infrared camera, contains the lensing galaxy cluster SDSS J1226+2149. It lies at a distance of around 6.3 billion light-years from Earth, in the constellation Coma Berenices. By combining Webb’s sensitivity with the magnifying effect of gravitational lensing, astronomers were able to use this gravitational lens to explore the earliest stages of star formation in distant galaxies. To do so, they relied on earlier studies by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which provided the ‘prescription’ for this gravitational lens.

Text Credit: ESA/Webb

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