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James Webb Telescope identifies former star that exploded into a supernova
Summary
A Northwestern University-led team used NASA's James Webb Telescope and archival Hubble images to locate the red supergiant that produced a supernova whose light reached Earth on June 29, 2025. The star appears unusually dusty, and NASA says the finding could help explain missing red supergiants.
Content
NASA's James Webb Telescope and archival Hubble data were used to identify the star that produced a recently observed supernova. A team led by Northwestern University compared images and found the progenitor in previous Webb observations. The object was a red supergiant and appears to be heavily surrounded by dust. The explosion occurred more than 40 million years ago and its light arrived at Earth on June 29, 2025.
Key details:
- The research was led by a team from Northwestern University.
- The discovery relied on comparing James Webb Telescope images with archival Hubble images.
- The progenitor is identified as a red supergiant that appeared very red and dusty.
- The supernova explosion occurred over 40 million years ago and its light reached Earth on June 29, 2025.
- Researchers described the star as "the reddest, most dusty red supergiant" seen to explode.
- NASA notes this finding could help explain why some red supergiants seem to be missing in prior surveys.
Summary:
The observation challenges earlier assumptions that exploding stars would always appear bright, because dust around aging stars can dim their light. NASA reports that this interpretation could account for missing red supergiants. Undetermined at this time.
