The Hubble Space Telescope has been providing unprecedented views of the universe for over 30 years. Despite numerous technological advancements in the field of astronomy, Hubble has been able to reveal mysteries of the cosmos, including the discovery of the oldest star ever seen by humans – irendel.

According to current assumptions, the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, and after the Big Bang, space was initially quiet and dark for a long time. The temperatures were so high, at several million degrees, that it would have been impossible for matter to form. Only many thousands of years later did the first elementary particles form, then gases, dust, and ultimately the universe cooled down.

Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers have been able to look back in time about 12 billion years, although distant objects were always very blurry. It was hardly possible to recognize single stars; much more often, the images showed blurred star clusters. But then, Hubble, towards the end of its service, managed something unbelievable.

In February 2022, the telescope delivered a fabulous image of a star that formed nearly 13 billion years ago, making it the oldest star ever cited by humans – irendel, The Morning Star. The blue supergiant was given the mystical name “irendel,” the Old English term for morning star or rising light, proving to be more than suitable for this discovery. Urendal, according to previous assumptions, was a pioneer of the cosmic dawn and might have been one of the first shining bodies in the universe.

Stars were formed from gas and dust clouds, starting at a time still unknown. First, the clouds began to oscillate, then to rotate. Finally, they became faster and faster, and in their centers, the first stars condensed. As a result of enormous forces due to the immense pressure, these celestial bodies became incredibly powerful reactors capable of fusing hydrogen molecules over millions and billions of years to produce light, heat, and all known elements.

Icarus, another star discovered in 2018 by cosmologists using Hubble’s technology, was estimated to be 9.4 billion years old, which means that it existed a little more than 4 billion years after the Big Bang. For a long time, Icarus was the record holder and was officially considered the oldest star ever discovered by humans.

However, Hubble’s capabilities and the possibilities of observing this period of time from Earth are limited. The James Webb Space Telescope, the new project launched in December 2021, aims to peer a little deeper and more in focus toward the Big Bang. Hubble’s technology was considered obsolete, and hardly anyone still hoped that the old telescope would make any groundbreaking discoveries when the whole world was already looking in the direction of James Webb.

Yet Hubble served up a surprise in February 2022, delivering a fabulous image of a star that formed nearly 13 billion years ago, making it the oldest star ever seen by humans – irendel, The Morning Star. Icarus and irendel indicate that the first stars were very large and bright, both being blue supergiants. Erendel was previously estimated to be about 50 times larger than our sun and an incredible one million times more powerful in its luminosity.

Despite the excellent technology of modern space telescopes, finding the oldest stars in the universe is a bit like the famous search for a needle in a haystack. Normally, gigantic galaxies appear over this distance only like small hazy specks of light. The galaxy in which urendal was located probably contained millions of stars, yet it appears only as a blur of light.