Almost three years after its historic rendezvous with the enigmatic asteroid Bennu, OSIRIS-REx is embarking on an extraordinary journey home, carrying with it a treasure trove of scientific insights locked within a sample collected during its close encounter.
This newly discovered celestial wonder, nestled in the embrace of a red giant star, has been aptly named the "Unicorn" – not just for its rarity but also for its location in the constellation Monoceros, the Greek word for 'unicorn'.
This beacon, named Earendel, is a star that has journeyed through the eons, its light traversing 12.9 billion years, reaching out to us from a time when the universe was but a child.