A team of Webb astronomers has released a stunning image taken by NASA/ESA/CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope. MACS J1149.5+2223 MACS J1149 (abbreviated as MACS J1149) is a collection of hundreds of galaxies located in the constellation Leo, about 5 billion light-years from Earth. The new images reveal not only the cluster’s glowing galaxies, but also how their massive gravity has an unusual effect on the fabric of space-time itself.

This web image shows the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223. Image credits: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / C. Willott, National Research Council Canada / R. Tripodi, INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Rome.

New Webb image of MACS J1149 shows light from background galaxy They are dramatically bent and expanded in a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, forming elongated arcs and distorted shapes that testify to the mass of these star clusters.

“The overwhelming gravity of this galaxy cluster does more than just hold all the galaxies floating in the universe together,” astronomers Webb said in a statement.

“As light from the galaxies behind the cluster travels toward our telescope over billions of years, its path through spacetime is bent by the masses of the intervening galaxies.”

“This phenomenon is called gravitational lensing, and the results are evident in this image from MACS J1149. From galaxies that appear stretched into narrow streaks of light to images of galaxies deformed into strange shapes, subtle and not-so-subtle examples of gravitational lensing are scattered throughout the image.”

“An excellent example of gravitational lensing can be seen near the center of the image, just below the bright white galaxy at the center of the cluster,” they added.

“There, the image of a galaxy with distinct spiral arms is stretched into something resembling a pink jellyfish.”

“This seemingly tangled galaxy is home to what was once the most distant single star ever discovered and a supernova whose image appeared four times at once.”

This image of MACS J1149 is Canadian NIRISS unbiased cluster survey (CANUCS) program.

“This program uses Webb’s sensitive instruments to unravel the evolution of low-mass galaxies in the early Universe, revealing their star formation, dust, and chemistry,” the astronomers said.

“These data will also help researchers study the epoch of reionization when the first stars and galaxies lit up the universe, map mass distribution within galaxy clusters, and understand how star formation slows and trickles down in cluster environments.”