Skip to main content

James Webb Space Telescope may have spotted its first supernova

The James Webb firsts keep coming, with the new space telescope having recently spotted what could be the most distant galaxy ever observed. Now, it may have spotted its first supernova.

The potential supernova spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope.
The potential supernova spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope. pace Telescope Science Institute

As reported by Inverse, researchers using Webb believe they have observed a supernova using the NIRCam instrument. They compared the Webb data to data collected using Hubble and found a bright object which could be a star that has just gone supernova.

Recommended Videos

A supernova occurs when a massive star runs out of fuel and comes to the end of its life. As the star collapses, it throws off much of its material in an enormous explosion which gives out large amounts of light. This light is so bright it can be spotted from great distances away. Webb spotted one such bright flash in the galaxy SDSS.J141930.11+5251593. The telescope made two observations of the galaxy five days apart, and in the second observation, the flash was less bright, suggesting it is dimming over time.

“We would need more time series data to make a determination, but the data we do have does match that of a supernova, so it’s a very good candidate,” lead author Mike Engesser of the Space Telescope Science Institute said to Inverse.

This finding is rather surprising, even with Webb’s extreme sensitivity. Because supernovae are transient events, meaning they don’t last for long, you have to get lucky to observe one when it happens. Although technically, the supernova happened billions of years ago, we are only just seeing it now because it takes time for the light to travel to us from the distant galaxy.

Webb wasn’t designed to detect supernovae, but researchers are making the most of the data collected so far and are finding surprising uses for it. The advantage of looking at this kind of target with Webb is that it will be able to observe the area around the supernova to see its effects and the aftermath of such a large explosion.
Understanding more about supernovae is important not only for understanding the life cycles of stars, but also for measuring the expansion of the universe. A class of supernovae called Type 1a are used as “mile markers” for measuring distances because they have consistent levels of brightness and can be seen from great distances.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
James Webb takes rare direct image of a nearby super-Jupiter
Artist’s impression of a cold gas giant orbiting a red dwarf. Only a point of light is visible on the JWST/MIRI images. Nevertheless, the initial analysis suggests the presence of a gaseous planet that may have properties similar to Jupiter.

Even with huge ground-based observatories and the latest technology in space-based telescopes, it's still relatively rare for astronomers to take an image of an exoplanet. Planets outside our solar system are so far away and so small and dim compared to the stars they orbit that it's extremely difficult to study them directly. That's why most observations of exoplanets are made by studying their host stars. Now, though, the James Webb Space Telescope has directly imaged a gas giant -- and it's one of the coldest exoplanets observed so far.

The planet, named Epsilon Indi Ab, is located 12 light-years away and has an estimated temperature of just 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). The fact it is so cool compared to most exoplanets meant that Webb's sensitive instruments were needed to study it.

Read more
One half of this wild exoplanet reaches temperatures of 1,450 degrees Fahrenheit
webb wasp 39b dayside nightside stsci 01j2f12rm1s3n39yj938nhsf93 png

This artist’s concept shows what the exoplanet WASP-39 b could look like based on indirect transit observations from JWST and other space- and ground-based telescopes. Data collected by its NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) show variations between the morning and evening atmosphere of the planet. NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

One of the ground-breaking abilities of the James Webb Space Telescope is that researchers can use it to not only detect distant planets but also to peer into their atmosphere. Now, new research using Webb has uncovered differing conditions between morning and evening on a distant exoplanet, the first time such differences have been observed on a planet outside our solar system.

Read more
Webb captures a Penguin and an Egg for its two-year anniversary
This “penguin party” is loud! The distorted spiral galaxy at center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at left, the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. A new near- and mid-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken to mark its second year of science, shows that their interaction is marked by a faint upside-down U-shaped blue glow.

This “penguin party” is loud! The distorted spiral galaxy at center, called the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at left, called the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. A new near- and mid-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken to mark its second year of science, shows that their interaction is marked by a faint upside-down U-shaped blue glow. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Today, July 12, marks two years since the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope were unveiled. In that time, Webb has discovered the most distant galaxies known, uncovered surprises about the early universe, peered into the atmospheres of distant planets, and produced a plethora of beautiful images of space.

Read more