An international team of scientists was able to coincidentally observe a bursting supernova in a distant spiral galaxy using data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s first year of interstellar observation. The study, which was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on galaxy explosion, presents fresh infrared measurements of NGC 1566, also known as the Spanish Dancer, one of the brightest galaxies in our local universe. The galaxy’s incredibly active center, which is around 40 million light-years from Earth, has made it particularly well-liked by researchers hoping to learn more about how star-forming nebulae start and develop. In this instance, researchers were able to observe a Type 1a supernova, which is the explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf star. Michael Tucker, a fellow at The Ohio State University’s Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics and a co-author of the study, said researchers only discovered this supernova by chance while looking at NGC 1566.Astronomers frequently utilize white dwarf explosions as measures of distance, therefore they are significant to the subject of cosmology, according to Tucker. They also produce a significant portion of the universe’s iron group elements, including nickel, cobalt, and iron.
The PHANGS-JWST Survey, whose extensive collection of star cluster observations was utilized to generate a reference dataset to investigate in close-by galaxies, making the research possible. Tucker and co-author Ness Mayker Chen, an Ohio State graduate student in astronomy who oversaw the project, sought to understand how specific chemical elements are released into the surrounding cosmos following an explosion by examining photographs of the supernova’s core or instance, whereas lighter atoms such as hydrogen and helium were created during the big bang, heavier elements can only be produced during thermonuclear events that take place inside supernovas. According to Tucker, knowing how these star interactions impact the distribution of iron elements throughout the universe may help scientists understand the chemistry behind the universe’s chemical composition. A supernova expands as it bursts, and as it does so, we can basically see different layers of the ejecta, which allows us to investigate the nebula’s core,” he said. Supernovas produce radioactive high-energy photons like uranium-238 as a result of a process known as radioactive decay, in which an unstable atom releases energy to become more stable. In this case, the investigation concentrated especially on the cobalt-56 to iron-56 transition.
Researchers discovered that more than 200 days after the initial explosion, supernova ejecta was still visible at infrared wavelengths that would have been hard to image from the ground using data from JWST’s near-infrared and mid-infrared camera equipment. That would have been really worrying in this study if the results weren’t what we anticipated, he said. “Up until JWST, it was just a theory, but we’ve always assumed that energy doesn’t escape the ejecta.” For a long time, it was unclear if the magnetic fields produced by supernovae prevented the fast-moving particles formed when cobalt-56 decays into iron-56 from entering the surroundings. The study, however, demonstrates that in the majority of cases, ejecta doesn’t escape the limits of the explosion by offering fresh insight into the cooling characteristics of supernova ejecta. Many of the previous scientific hypotheses about how these intricate systems function had been confirmed by this, according to Tucker.
He said that “almost 20 years’ worth of science are validated” by this study. “It does a nice job of at least showing that our assumptions haven’t been tragically wrong,” the author said. Although Tucker noted that additional access to other types of imaging filters could help test them as well, providing more opportunities to comprehend wonders far beyond the edges of our own galaxy, future JWST observations will continue to aid scientists in the development of their theories about star formation and evolution. The potency of JWST is truly unmatched, according to Tucker. It’s quite encouraging that we’re making progress in this area of research, and with the help of JWST, there’s a strong chance we’ll be able to not only replicate our findings for many types of supernovas but also improve upon them.
Conclusion
The explosion has to do with a star that has reached the end of its life and bursts in a bright flash of light.
