Scientists just found a star that existed 12.8 billion years ago. Wild, right? According to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the Hubble Space Telescope was able to successfully view a star (or pair of stars, we’re not entirely sure) that is 28 billion light-years away from us. It is the most distant star system that astronomers have ever managed to observe.
Officially known as WHL0137-LS, the scientists who brought this star system into focus have named it “Earendel” — an Old English term that means “rising light” or “morning star.” The distant glimmering light from long ago is believed to be 50 to 500 times more massive than the Sun that shines on us here on Earth. It’s also thought to be millions of times brighter than our preferred floating ball of fire.
