James Webb Telescope Reveals Invisible Detail of Dead Star

A mid-infrared image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope was released by NASA last week (7), which includes unprecedented images of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). According to Danny Milisavljevic, chief investigator of the Webb program, Observing this debris is like “doing some kind of stellar autopsy.”.

The Cas A supernova occurred about 340 years ago, according to scientific estimates based on historical records and astronomers. The light from the starburst would appear on Earth around the year 1680.

Recordings captured by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) show light from a supernova remnant about 11,000 light-years from Earth. “Compared to previous infrared images, we’re seeing incredible detail that we weren’t able to access before.” Says one of the researchers involved in the Tea Temim study from Princeton University in the United States.

What did new images of the Cas A supernova show?

Because of their importance in understanding life as we know it, the study of supernovae such as the remnants of Cassiopeia has been extensively studied by various terrestrial and space observatories. New James Webb images add striking colors in the mid-infrared wavelength range.

Thus, the orange and green material observed as a curtain above and to the left of the “bubble” represents the hot dust emission from the supernova explosion. The bright pink fibers are structures known as clumps and knots, formed by the release of enormous amounts of energy.

There is still a lot of work to be done to “solve all these sources of emissions,” according to the researchers. – understanding the contents of cosmic dust – best observed with the new James Webb bias. “I will spend the rest of my career trying to understand what is going on with this dataset,” Milisavljevic says.