The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a supernova that dates back to only 1.8 billion years after the Big Bang, as well as 80 other supernovae in the early universe. These ancient explosions could help scientists uncover the mysteries of how the universe developed.
This is the oldest and most distant supernova ever discovered – an explosion that occurred when the universe was just 1.8 billion years old.
Supernovae are transient objects because their brightness changes over time. This makes the distant explosions particularly fascinating, as studying them can provide critical insights into unanswered questions about how the early universe evolved.
Matthew Siebert, the astronomer leading the spectral analysis of the supernovae, stated: “Essentially, we are opening a new window into the temporary universe. Historically, whenever we have done this, we have found extremely interesting things – things we did not expect.”
There are two main types of supernovae: core-collapse supernovae and thermonuclear supernovae.
Explosions of the first type occur when stars with masses greater than eight times that of the sun exhaust their fuel and collapse before expanding outward in a massive explosion.
