Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 January 18
     [2]Distant galaxies appear as yellow blurry dots while a few nearby
       bright stars appear in white and surrounded by spikes caused by
   diffraction. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

        MACS0647: Gravitational Lensing of the Early Universe by Webb
    Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]Dan Coe ([7]STScI), Rebecca
   Larson (UT), Yu-Yang Hsiao (JHU); Processing: [8]Alyssa Pagan (STScI);
            Text: [9]Michael Rutkowski ([10]Minn. St. U. Mankato)

   Explanation: [11]Gravitational lensing by the galaxy cluster MACS0647
   -- in which the massive foreground cluster distorts and lenses the
   light emitted by distant background galaxies along the line of sight --
   is on vivid display here in [12]this recent [13]multi-color infrared
   image from the [14]James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In particular,
   the background source [15]MACS0647-JD is seen to be [16]lensed three
   times by the cluster. [17]When first discovered with the [18]Hubble
   Space Telescope, MACS0647-JD was observed as an amorphous blob. With
   [19]Webb though, this single source is revealed to be a [20]pair or
   small group of galaxies. The colors of the MACS0647-JD objects are
   different as well -- indicating differences potentially in the age or
   [21]dust content of these galaxies. These new images provide rare
   examples of galaxies [22]in an era only a few 100 million years after
   the [23]Big Bang.

              Explore Your Universe: [24]Random APOD Generator
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([39]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [40]Specific rights apply.
              [41]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC,
                         [45]NASA Science Activation
                           & [46]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2301/MacsClusterLens_Webb_2000.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://esa.int/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
   6. https://www.stsci.edu/~dcoe/Home.html
   7. https://www.stsci.edu/
   8. https://illuminateduniverse.org/author/spacebean1701/
   9. https://cset.mnsu.edu/departments/physics-and-astronomy/faculty-and-staff/michael-rutkowski/
  10. https://cset.mnsu.edu/departments/physics-and-astronomy/
  11. https://hubblesite.org/contents/articles/gravitational-lensing
  12. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01GG5S9PYP35JM2JMF1G9Z75SR
  13. https://jwst-docs.stsci.edu/jwst-near-infrared-camera/nircam-instrumentation/nircam-filters
  14. https://webbtelescope.org/home
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MACS0647-JD
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220705.html
  17. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/distance-record.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090525.html
  19. https://webb.nasa.gov/
  20. https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/10/26/webb-offers-never-before-seen-details-of-early-universe/
  21. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/d/Dust+Grain
  22. https://astronomy.com/magazine/news/2021/01/the-beginning-to-the-end-of-the-universe-the-first-stars-are-born
  23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
  24. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230117.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  34. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230118
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230119.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  46. http://www.mtu.edu/