NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) photographed one of the earliest supernovae ever observed, and its features resembled the grain and knots found in a cut piece of wood.
“Once, the core of a massive star collapsed, creating a shock wave that exploded outward, tearing the star apart as it traveled,” NASA said on its website. “When the shock wave reached the star’s surface, it penetrated and produced a short, powerful pulse of X-rays and ultraviolet light that spread out into the surrounding space.”
Now, almost 350 years later, scientists have captured the aftermath of a pulse of light reaching the interstellar medium and causing it to glow.
The infrared glow produced was captured by JWST, revealing details that look like knots and swirls in the wood grain.
Scientists say powerful Webb telescope has captured the most distant galaxy known
This background image of the region around supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was released by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2008. By using Spitzer to take multiple images of the area over three years, the researchers were able to examine numerous light echoes. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has imaged some of these light echoes in greater detail. The lower right inset shows an era of Webb observations, and the left inset shows a Webb image of the central supernova remnant ejected in 2023. (Spitzer image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Y. Kim (University of Arizona/University of Chicago). Cassiopeia A inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), T. Temim (Princeton University), light echo inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (California Institute of Technology/IPAC).
“Even when a star dies, its light remains, reverberating throughout the universe. It’s been an incredible three years since we launched NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Every image, every discovery… This groundbreaking mission, the agency’s largest international space science collaboration, showcases not only the majesty of the universe, but also the portrait of the universe. ingenuity, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “What an honor it has been to oversee this monumental effort, shaped by the tireless dedication of thousands of scientists and engineers around the world. It beautifully captures heritage, a keyhole to the past and a mission to inspire generations to come.”
In addition to being naturally beautiful, the observations also allowed astronomers to map the three-dimensional structure of interstellar dust and gas for the first time.
“We were pretty shocked to see this level of detail,” said Jacob Jenkson, principal investigator in the science program at Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena.
Josh Peek of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, also a member of the team, said the onion-like layers were visible.
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These shimmering cosmic curtains display interstellar gas and dust heated by ancient supernova explosions. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jenkson (California Institute of Technology/IPAC))
“We think all the dense, dusty areas that we see, and most of the areas that we don’t see, look like this on the inside,” he said. “We’ve never looked inside them before.”
Images produced by the JWST Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) highlight a phenomenon called optical echoes, NASA said. This phenomenon occurs when a star explodes or erupts, and then the surrounding dust particles are illuminated by light.
Visible-light echoes occur when light reflects off the interstellar medium, while echoes at infrared wavelengths occur when dust is warmed by high-energy radiation and emit light.
Scientists are targeting a light echo previously observed by NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, one of dozens discovered near the remains of a Cassiopeia A supernova. .
Scientists talk about the merger of giant black holes in the early universe discovered by the Webb Telescope


FILE – In this April 13, 2017 photo provided by NASA, engineers use a crane to lift a mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. (Laura Betts/NASA, via AP, File)
Webb’s image shows a tightly packed sheet of filaments, a structure that NASA calls “remarkably small scale” at less than about 400 astronomical units, or one-hundredth of a light-year. One astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the sun, and the diameter of Neptune’s orbit is 60 astronomical units.
“I didn’t know that the interstellar medium had a structure on such a small scale, let alone that it was sheet-like,” Peake said.
The scientists compared their findings to medical CT scans.
“We took three slices at three different points in time, allowing us to study the true 3D structure,” said Armin Rest and team members at the Space Telescope Science Institute. It’s going to completely change the way we do things.” Said.
The team’s findings will be presented this week at the 245th Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, DC.
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The successor to the Hubble telescope and the largest telescope ever launched into space, the Webb Telescope is a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency.