The teams research describing the target stars waspublishedthis week inNature Astronomy.
Such red stars are nearing theend of their lives.
As the stars use up their fuel, they swell and offload reams of gas and dust.
The galaxy cluster Abell 370, containing the star-filled Dragon Arc, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.Image: NASA
Discovering a single distant star is remarkable on its own.
But a whole collection of stars is more scientifically useful.
Besides helping scientists understand how different gravitational lenses magnify ancient light, the findings could reveal aspects ofdark matter.
An illustration showing how Webb collects data on extremely distant stars. Graphic: Yoshinobu Fudamoto
News from the future, delivered to your present.
As for the Moon, not so much.
