James Webb Telescope Captures Record-Breaking View of Distant Stars

Astronomers identified 44 individual stars in the Dragon Arc galaxy, 6.5 billion light-years away, using gravitational lensing and advanced infrared imaging.

The Dragon Arc galaxy, located behind the massive Abell 370 galaxy cluster, was observed with unprecedented detail using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Researchers identified 44 individual stars—more than ever seen in a single distant galaxy—using gravitational lensing, a phenomenon where massive objects bend and magnify light from farther away.
The discovery relied on both macrolensing from the galaxy cluster and microlensing from unbound stars within the cluster, providing significant magnification.
Many of the stars observed were red supergiants, cooler and at the end of their life cycles, a contrast to the blue supergiants typically detected in earlier studies.
The findings open new possibilities for studying distant stellar populations, galaxy formation, and the elusive nature of dark matter.