Distant star found by Hubble telescope may be earliest we will ever see

Light from Earendel has travelled for an estimated 12.9bn years to reach Earth

The most distant star ever seen has been captured by the Hubble space telescope in images that appear to give a remarkable glimpse into the ancient universe.

Light from the star, named Earendel, has travelled an estimated 12.9bn years to reach the Earth - a huge leap from the previous most distant star, which dates to nine billion years. The observations were possible thanks to a rare cosmic alignment, meaning that Earendel may be the only individual star from this epoch that we will ever see.