A team of researchers led by Brian Welch, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, announced Wednesday (March 30) that, with observations from Hubble, they have discovered the most distant single star ever before seen. And, while the star’s technical designation is WHL0137-LS, they gave it a much catchier name: Earendel. Fans of the author J.R.R. Tolkien, famous for fantasy novels including “The Lord of the Rings” series and “The Silmarillion,” might already find this name familiar. And, as NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller confirmed to Space.com, the name is, in fact, inspired by Tolkien’s fantasy writing. https://www.space.com/hubble-most-distant-star-tolkien-name-earendil