Astronomers' Observations Reveal Supernova Manifesting Thrice Due to Spacetime Warping Through Webb Telescope Lens
The Webb Space Telescope's captivating shot showcases a supernova appearing thrice, thanks to a cosmic quirk called gravitational lensing. This celestial event also assisted researchers in measuring the Hubble constant, a tricky number that signifies the universe's expansion speed.
Gravitational lenses, spots in space where light is bent and magnified due to the gravity of hefty structures like black holes or galaxy clusters, played a significant role in this discovery. In this case, the lens was a galaxy arrangement in Ursa Major, which manipulated the light from distant, older sources, making them more visible from Earth.
release, that region of space was chosen for imaging because of its high rate of star formation of masses more than 300 times the mass of our Sun. The region was imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015, but Webb’s infrared vision recently revealed fainter light sources in the same field.
The galaxy cluster, nicknamed G165.7+67.0 or just G165, was captured by Webb's Near-Infrared Camera in March, April, and May of the previous year. Located 3.6 billion light-years from Earth, this extraordinary cluster magnified and multiplied a supernova, creating a brilliant, dying star's 3-dimensional representation in the sky.
currently hosted on the preprint server arXiv.
Scientists at the Space Telescope Science Institute examined the imaging results and confirmed that the chosen area for observation boasted a high star formation rate, with stars more massive than 300 times our Sun. Before the Webb telescope's revealing infrared vision, Hubble had detected faint light sources in the same field in 2015.
12.9-billion-year-old Earendel, the oldest known star, in 2022.
By bending the light from distant, ancient sources, gravitational lenses, in turn, make those sources more visible from Earth. The supernova image obtained through this process shows the brilliant explosion at three different instances, a unique optical phenomenon that researchers referred to as the "trifold supernova."
In 2016, a burst of light from a 10-billion-year-old supernova showed up in the night sky and disappeared within a few years; it was the third time the supernova, dubbed “Requiem,” showed up in the sky, as light from the event took different routes to Earth. That team of researchers said they expected more light from the supernova to arrive on Earth in 2037.
Astronomer Brenda Frye, a member of the research team, explained how the light from the trifold supernova traveled through three distinct paths, identifying each instance of the supernova explosion. Frye likened it to viewing a person in a three-paneled vanity mirror from three different angles, each panel showing a unique moment in time.
vexing headache in our understanding of the universe. The supernova was dubbed SN H0pe, for its ability to lend a hand in clarifying the nature of the tension.
In addition to its captivating nature, this celestial occurrence contributes to the solution of a long-standing issue in astronomy called the Hubble tension. The tension refers to the discrepancies found in the calculations of the universe's expansion rate based on different methods. The supernova in question, named SN H0pe, aids in reducing these inconsistencies.
the Hubble constant. One way to predict that rate is by studying the cosmic microwave background, the earliest light we can see, which dates back to about 300,000 years after the Big Bang. The other way is to look at a group of stars called the Cepheids, which are useful because they show how galaxies’ light has been stretched by the expansion of the universe.
To fully grasp the implications of this trifold supernova discovery, understanding what the Hubble tension represents is crucial. The universe has been expanding since its apparent beginning 13.77 billion years ago. Researchers utilize two primary methods to predict the rate of this expansion, causing differing results. One approach relies on analyzing the cosmic microwave background, the earliest light we can observe, dating back approximately 300,000 years after the Big Bang.
Last year, Webb data confirmed that the Hubble tension (named for the venerated astronomer, not the telescope that also bears his name) was not due any issues with the Hubble telescope, which was previously observed to detect the tension. Two years ago this month, a
The other method involves observing groups of stars called Cepheids, which exhibit light stretching due to the expansion of the universe. The different numbers generated by these two methods create the Hubble tension, a source of intrigue for the astronomical community.
different team heightened the certainty of the tension—that is to say, the certainty that the discrepancy is a scientific reality and not a statistical fluke—to a
Gravitational lensing through the lens of the Webb Space Telescope provides a unique opportunity to study light and time, allowing us to unlock secrets of the universe that were previously elusive. Through time-delay cosmography, researchers can obtain more precise distance measurements and, consequently, estimate the Hubble constant more accurately. This knowledge aids in delving deeper into the mysteries of space and time.
5-sigma threshold, or a one-in-a-million chance that scientists are getting something wrong.
- The discovery of the trifold supernova by astronomers depended significantly on the use of gravitational lensing by astronomy enthusiasts in 1849676365.
- The Hubble constant, a measure of the universe's expansion speed, can be more accurately determined through the use of technology like the Webb Space Telescope and the understanding of cosmic quirks such as gravitational lensing.
- Astronomers have used links between the Hubble constant and the properties of distant galaxies to analyze data, often relying on the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics's HERA survey, which utilizes advanced techniques in science and technology.
- The success of using gravitational lensing in the detection and study of celestial events, like the trifold supernova, has led to an increased interest in future space missions and technology development by the scientific community, such as the Hubble Space Telescope's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope ('href' to this project).