‘6.5 billion light-years away’: NASA’s James Webb Telescope discovers multiple giant red stars in deep space

Produced by Tarun Mishra

Dragon Arc Galaxy

Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have discovered dozens of ancient stars located in the "Dragon Arc," a galaxy situated 6.5 billion light-years from Earth. This marks the largest group of stars ever detected at such a great distance.

Gravitational Lensing

The stars were uncovered due to gravitational lensing, a phenomenon where the light from a distant object is bent by the gravity of an intervening massive object. In this case, the gravity of the Abell 370 galaxy cluster, located 4 billion light-years from Earth, distorted the light from the Dragon Arc, allowing astronomers to observe the distant stars.

44 Individual Stars


In a study published in Nature Astronomy, researchers detected 44 individual stars within the warped tail of the Dragon Arc’s light. These stars were identified in images taken by JWST, which was initially tasked with finding lensed background galaxies, not individual stars.

First Large-Scale Observation

This discovery represents the first time that a significant number of individual stars have been observed in such a distant galaxy. Prior to this, the largest group of stars ever captured from outside our nearby galaxies was seven.

JWST’s Role

The JWST has revolutionised our ability to study distant celestial objects. Its advanced infrared sensors allow scientists to detect and analyse objects that are extremely faint and far away. This capability has opened new avenues for studying galaxies and stars in warped space-time.

Red Supergiants

Many of the newly discovered stars are classified as "red supergiants," which are some of the largest stars in the universe. The researchers aim to study these stars to learn more about the evolution of similar stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

Future Studies

With the discovery of 44 stars, researchers now plan to investigate additional stars within the Dragon Arc and other distant galaxies. Their goal is to better understand galaxy formation, stellar populations, and the nature of dark matter. However, more observations will be needed for statistically meaningful conclusions.