On September 29th, 2026, an image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was released to the public (see attached) on Earth. The image itself is a photograph of a galaxy cluster known as MACS J0454.1-0300. This image is a *fascinating* example of a phenomena known as 'gravitational lensing'. Gravitational lensing is, as can be seen in the image, a warping and/or magnification of light due to the gravitational pull of a massive celestial body. In this case, it is the gravitational pull of the galaxy cluster itself! Each bright, yellow light shown within this image is an entire galaxy and not a mere star. The density and the closeness of all of these has created a large enough gravitational force that it is quite literally bending light around it! Phenomena like this is especially fascinating as it allows astronomers to observe galaxies, star clusters and even individual stars much easier, thanks to the magnification that gravitational lensing can provide!
Should you wish to learn more about this photograph in particular, do visit the website it originated from. See it linked here: https://esawebb.org/images/potm2609a/