Image of star cluster more than 10bn years ago sheds light on early stages of universe

Scientists have been given an unprecedented glimpse into the birth of stars and the early stages of the universe, after a new image showing a cluster more than 10bn years ago was released by the James Webb space telescope.

The image shows a young cluster of stars, known as NGC 346, which is more than 200,000 light years from Earth.

Scientists have taken a particular interest in the cluster, which is in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), because it resembles the conditions of the early universe when star formation was at its peak.

The NGC 346 cluster houses protostars, which are clouds of gas and dust in space that are developing into stars. Astronomers study these to try to further understand how stars are formed.

As the gas and dust gathers, it resembles ribbons coming in from the surrounding molecular cloud. The material collects into a disk, which feeds the central protostar.

The JWST is the largest optical telescope in space, and can be used to look at objects too old, distant or faint for the Hubble space telescope. It was launched into space on Christmas Day 2021.