Earendel: A name inspired by Tolkien’s character for the farthest star

The Earndale star, the furthest ever observed, got its nickname after the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of fantasy books. Although the star’s technical designation is WHL0137-LS, the team that made the discovery gave it a somewhat apt name. “Earendil” is an Old English term which is also the name of the letter Eärendil from a Lord of the rings – One of the author’s most famous works.

The Earendel discovery was announced this week, and if the name sounds familiar to fans Stories by Tolkien, because it is really inspired by the author’s creations. explained Michelle Thaler, an astronomer at NASA Who is not part of the team that identified the star.

In Old English the term “Earendel” can be used as a proper noun, but it may also mean “morning star” or “dawn”. At the same time Lord of the ringsErendel’s character is a demi-elf who travels the seas carrying the gem Silmaril, which is called the “Morning Star”.

The star spotted by the Hubble telescope It is 12.9 billion light-years away from Earth, which makes the choice of name quite appropriate. “And this star is, literally, from the dawn of history, the dawn of star formation,” Thaler said. “This is the first, farthest star we’ve ever seen, and I think Earndale is a beautiful name for him.”

The star Earndel

Earendel was discovered through notes Hubble Space TelescopeIt was found for the first billion years after the Big Bang. Since it is 12.9 billion light-years away from us, it looks to us as it did in the past, when the universe was 7% old today. The team that discovered it believes the star is at least 50 solar masses and a few million times brighter than our star.

Although very far away, the star may not have been part of the first absolute generation of stars that ever existed. “We doubt this Not the first generation of stars’” Thaler remarked. “We think it may be from a [geração] Then… maybe a few tens of millions of years after the stars started forming in the universe.

In addition, she also added that “the young man who discovered the star chose the name” – perhaps referring in his letter to Brian Welch, astronomer and lead author of the paper describing the discovery. How his personal interest in Tolkien’s work was demonstrated by the choice of name, but Thaler added that she and the other staff admired the author.

source: space.com