The powerful Webb telescope captured photos of one of the first supernovae ever seen
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has photographed one of the earliest supernovae ever seen, which was discovered in a knot like grain and wood shavings.
“At some point, the core of the giant star collapsed and created a shock wave that exploded outward, tearing the star apart as it went,” NASA said on its website. “When the shock wave reaches the surface of the star, it punches it, creating a short, intense pulse of X-rays and ultraviolet light that travel into the vicinity.”
Now, nearly 350 years later, scientists are seeing the results when a pulse of light reaches interstellar materials.
The resulting infrared glow was captured by JWST, revealing knots and braid-like details in the wood grain.
A powerful Webb telescope has captured the most distant known galaxy, scientists say.
This background image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was released by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2008. By taking multiple images of this region with Spitzer over three years, researchers were able to detect several light echoes. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed some of these light echoes in more detail. The insets on the lower right show one of the Webb observations, while the one on the left shows the Webb image of the central supernova remnant released in 2023. (Spitzer Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Y. Kim (Univ. of Arizona/Univ. of Chicago). Cassiopeia A Inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Shai Temim (Princeton University) (Caltech/IPAC).
“Even when a star dies, its light lives on – it echoes through the cosmos. It’s been 3 years since we launched NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Every image, every discovery, reflects not only the majesty of the universe, but the power of the NASA team and the promise of global partnerships. This is NASA’s largest global space science collaboration for NASA. It’s a real testament to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson’s intelligence, teamwork And the pursuit of excellence.” What a privilege it is to oversee this monumental effort shaped by the tireless dedication of thousands of scientists and engineers around the world. This latest image beautifully captures Webb’s lasting legacy – a keyhole of the past and an inspiring mission for generations to come.”
While beautiful in nature, the observations give astronomers the ability to model the 3-dimensional structure of interstellar dust and gas for the first time.
“We were shocked to see this level of detail,” said Jacob Jensen of Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, the science program’s principal investigator.
Josh Peek of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, a member of the team, said they were looking at layers like an onion.
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These glowing veils of space are interstellar gas and dust heated by the flashbulb explosion of a long-ago supernova. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STCI, Jenkins (Caltech/IPAC))
“Every dense dusty area we see, and most of the ones we don’t see, looks like this from the inside,” he said. “We couldn’t see inside them before.”
The images from JWST’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) highlight a phenomenon called light echoes, NASA said, where when a star explodes or explodes, it bounces light off the surrounding dust and causes them to shine.
Visible light echoes are produced when the light reflects off interstellar material, while those at infrared wavelengths occur when the dust is heated by energetic radiation and causes it to glow.
Scientists have already targeted a light echo observed by NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, one of dozens found near the remnants of the Cassiopeia A supernova.
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FILE – In this April 13, 2017 photo provided by NASA, technicians clean the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope in Greenbelt, MD. (Laura Baez/NASA via AP, File)
Webb’s images show tightly packed sheets of filaments that reveal structures on what NASA calls “incredibly small scales,” about 400 astronomical units, or less than one hundred percent of a light-year. An astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, and Neptune’s orbit is 60 astronomical units in diameter.
“We didn’t know the interstellar medium had structures on that small a scale, let alone sheet-like,” Peck said.
The findings were compared by scientists to medical CT scans.
“We have three pieces taken at three different times, which allows us to study the exact 3D structure. It completely changes the way we study the interstellar medium,” said Armin, the rest of the Space Telescope Science Institute and a member of the team. he said.
The team’s results will be presented this week at the 245th Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, DC.
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The Webb Telescope, the successor to Hubble and the largest telescope ever sent into space, is a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency.
