The ancient Greek myth of Pandora, much adapted by different storytellers and cultures, is at its heart a story of human curiosity and uncovering paradigm-shifting knowledge. In modern astronomy, a region of space where multiple galaxy clusters are merging has been named for the myth and become a favorite observational target for its ability to magnify much more distant galaxies behind it through a natural phenomenon called gravitational lensing. Using this trick of nature, astronomers use Pandora’s Cluster (Abell 2744) like a magnifying glass to reveal features in the early universe that would otherwise be impossible to observe even for the most powerful telescopes. 

Now a team of astronomers has combined the infrared imaging power of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with the lens of Pandora’s Cluster to create a detailed image of 50,000 sources, including some never-before-seen features. Exploration of Pandora’s Cluster with Webb is ongoing, but already there are tantalizing hints of the new understanding of the universe it will uncover.

Lee esta historia en español.