Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Wed Jan 18 2023 01:05:34

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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
   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: NASA, ESA, CSA, Dan Coe (STScI), Rebecca Larson (UT),
    Yu-Yang Hsiao (JHU); Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Text: Michael
                      Rutkowski (Minn. St. U. Mankato)

   Explanation: 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 this recent multi-color infrared image from the
   James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In particular, the background source
   MACS0647-JD is seen to be lensed three times by the cluster. When first
   discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope, MACS0647-JD was observed as
   an amorphous blob. With Webb though, this single source is revealed to
   be a pair or small group of galaxies. The colors of the MACS0647-JD
   objects are different as well -- indicating differences potentially in
   the age or dust content of these galaxies. These new images provide
   rare examples of galaxies in an era only a few 100 million years after
   the Big Bang.

                Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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