Dusty Supernovae (MIRI)

Dusty Supernovae (MIRI)

Images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) reveal large amounts of dust within two Type II supernovae, Supernova 2004et (SN2004 et) and Supernova 2017eaw (SN 2017eaw), located 22 million light-years away from Earth in spiral galaxy NGC 6946. The large amounts of dust found around these supernovae support the theory that supernovae played a key role in supplying dust to the early universe.

SN 2004et is highlighted in the left panel of this image, and SN 2017eaw in the right panel. Webb’s exquisite sensitivity and capability to observe in the mid-infrared allow it to detect the cooler dust that survived the internal shocks reverberating in the aftermath of the dying stars’ explosions. In these images, the bluer colors indicate hotter dust, while red is cooler dust. The hexagonal shape of SN 2004et in Webb’s image is an artifact of the telescope’s mirror and struts — when the bright light of a point source is observed, the light interacts with the sharp edges of the telescope, creating diffraction spikes.

The new Webb discovery is the first breakthrough in the study of dust production from supernovae since the detection of newly formed dust in relatively nearby (170,000 light-years) Supernova 1987A.

In SN 2004et, researchers using Webb found more than 5,000 Earth masses of dust, rivaling the amount of dust found in SN 1987A. That’s why SN 2004et appears brighter and redder in Webb images. SN 2017eaw is currently hotter, with less dust (bluer in Webb observations), but in 13 years, researchers expect it to appear similar to how SN 2004et does now.

In these images, blue, green, and red were assigned to Webb’s MIRI data at 10; 11.3, 12.8, and 15.0; and 18 and 21 microns (F1000W; F1130W, F1280W, and F1500W; and F1800W and F2100W, respectively).

MIRI was contributed by NASA and ESA, with the instrument designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (the MIRI European Consortium) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in partnership with the University of Arizona.

Credits

Science

NASA, ESA, CSA, Ori Fox (STScI), Melissa Shahbandeh (STScI)

Image Processing

Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

About The Object
Object Name NGC 6946, SN2004et, SN2017eaw
Object Description Dusty supernovae in spiral galaxy NGC 6946
R.A. Position 20:34:52.30
Dec. Position  +60:09:14.00
Constellation Cygnus
Distance 22.5 million light-years away
Dimensions Image is about 2.9 arcminutes across (~19,000 light-years)
About The Data
Data Description This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (O. Fox). 
 
Instrument NIRCam
Exposure Dates 20 Sept 2022
Filters F1000W, F1130W, F1280W, F1500W, F1800W, F2100W
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the MIRI instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:   Blue: F1000W, Green: F1130W+ F1280W + F1500, Red: F1800W + F2100W  
Compass Image A 4-part image is split down the middle with a vertical white line, at the top right of each half of the image is a white box extending out from lines connected to smaller white boxes in each image. On the left side, the large white box connected to the smaller white box is labeled SN 2004et. In this larger box is a zoomed-in image of a dot on the larger background image, and the zoomed-in image appears as a splotchy, red and white circle. On the right side, the large white box is labeled SN 2017eaw, and the zoomed-in image is a small light blue dot. The background images on each side are mostly black sections of a galaxy, with various smatterings of white dust clumps, small red dots, and light blue dots.
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.

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