
JWST uncovers a fresh gravitational arc, hinting at galaxies from the universe’s early era
Astronomers using JWST/NIRCam data from the RELICS program identified a bright, elongated gravitational arc behind the galaxy cluster MACS J0308.9+2645 (A1). Initial analysis suggested a redshift around z~4.4 with a magnification of ~7, placing it in the universe’s first billion years, but corrected photometry indicates a lower redshift near z~1.4, and a second, fainter candidate (A2) was found. The result implies many more early-universe galaxies may lie in Webb’s public data, and it underscores the need for independent verification and updated lens models due to potential photometry biases for extended sources.








