National
Webb telescope captures ‘green monster’ inside a young supernova
(CNN) — The James Webb Space Telescope has spied colorful, never-before-seen details in one of the most well-observed remnants of an exploded star.
The glowing gas and dust of Cassiopeia A is all that remains of a star that exploded in a supernova, and its light reached Earth for the first time 340 years ago. It’s the youngest known supernova remnant in our galaxy, which is why the celestial object has been studied by a multitude of ground and space-based telescopes.
Cassiopeia A is located 11,000 light-years away in the Cassiopeia constellation, and the remnant stretches for 10 light-years.
Insights from Cas A, as the remnant is also known, allow scientists to learn more about how stellar explosions occur.
Astronomers turned the Webb telescope and its instruments in the direction of Cas A to see if the observatory’s infrared capabilities could pick up anything other telescopes have missed. Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, allowing Webb to spy otherwise invisible aspects of the universe.
“Cas A represents our best opportunity to look at the debris field of an exploded star and run a kind of stellar autopsy to understand what type of star was there beforehand and how that star exploded,” said Danny Milisavljevic, assistant professor at Purdue University and principal investigator of the Webb program that captured the new observations, in a statement.
“Compared to previous infrared images, we see incredible detail that we haven’t been able to access before,” said co-investigator Tea Temim, research astronomer at Princeton University, in a statement.
Webb’s new infrared image of Cas A has been translated into visible light so the human eye can see the remnant’s colors. Red and orange light on the remnant’s exterior indicates warm dust, where material ejected from the star before it exploded is colliding with surrounding gas and dust.
Inside the bubble-like structure of the remnant, bright pink light can be seen, along with features that resemble clumps and knots. This material came from the exploded star and includes glowing heavy elements like argon, neon and oxygen.
A bright green loop along the right side of the bubble has also captured the interest of researchers.
“We’ve nicknamed it the Green Monster in honor of Fenway Park in Boston. If you look closely, you’ll notice that it’s pockmarked with what look like mini-bubbles,” said Milisavljevic. “The shape and complexity are unexpected and challenging to understand.”
The team is still trying to understand the sources behind all of the different colors in the image.
Studying remnants like Cas A can help scientists understand cosmic dust, a building block for stars and planets, and how exploded stars release elements crucial for life.
“By understanding the process of exploding stars, we’re reading our own origin story,” Milisavljevic said. “I’m going to spend the rest of my career trying to understand what’s in this data set.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
By: Pristine Villarreal
April 11, 2023
Latest Instagram Posts
Social Time with Thalia & Jerry. Who’s your baseball team?
Salton city resident Abraham Feinbloom is expected to take a plea deal in the murder case of 17 year old T’Neya Tovar. Under the plea deal obtained by the Imperial County Criminal Courthouse, Feinbloom will plead guilty to one count of torture and voluntary manslaughter. According to court records, he is also expected to assist law enforcement in finding the rest of the victim’s remains. Our @newsbyalondra will be inside the courtroom for his official sentencing Tuesday, September 29th with the very latest.
“Of you can’t find things out as a Board President… then what are they hiding?” Why is the elected board president being blocked from financial records? Drop your thoughts below👇 #therogginreport #coachellavalley #coachella #localnews #nbcpalmsprings
After AB 1145 (also known as Tristin’s Bill) was signed into law, NBC Palm Springs @maria_nvtv is giving more information about the law and what this means for the future of transportation in California #Highway74 #RoadSafety #CoachellaValley #Anza #RiversideCounty
Pregame update from Tim O’Brien ahead of tonight’s preseason matchup between the Coachella Valley Firebirds and the Ontario Reign. Tim has the latest from Acrisure Arena as the Firebirds get set for tonight’s game. UPDATE: Firebirds #CVFirebirds #CoachellaValleyFirebirds #OntarioReign #AHL #Hockey PalmSprings CoachellaValley
Who makes the NBC Top 3, winner will be announced Sunday night on NBC Palm Springs, with the player who makes the number one spot winning a $250 prize from @hondaofthedesert! Comment below if it will be 1) Xzavier Hernandez with the dot towards the back of the endzone, 2) Jesse Rodriguez with the 50 plus yard TD throw, 3) Trace Vargas with the diving TD, 4) Ryan Rumsey with the screen pass TD, making guys miss, or 5) Moyses Aguilar with the pick #fyp #fnl2026 #hondaofthedesert #highschoolfootball #fridaynightlights
Drop your thoughts in the comments 👇 #therogginreport #coachellavalley #localnews #explore #nbcpalmsprings
⚡️ TOP STORY: A man is recovering after he was struck by lightning. Firefighters battled a brush fire along Snow Creek Road, while another lightning strike in Chino Canyon sent a man to the hospital. If you hear thunder, stay indoors for at least 30 minutes after the last rumble. #PalmSprings #Lightning #FireSafety
🚨 Chasing that year-round “summer glow”? A social media tanning trend involving the unapproved peptide melanotan-2 is raising serious safety concerns. Dermatologists say safer sunless tanning options are available. ☀️ #YourHealthToday #SkinHealth #Melanotan2 #TanningSafety
Palm Springs firefighters responded Thursday to a report of a person struck by lightning in the Chino Canyon area. The person was transported to a hospital for medical treatment. Firefighters also responded to a palm tree fire in Chino Canyon that officials say was caused by an apparent lightning strike. NBC Palm Springs News Director David Reese is in the neighborhood tonight knocking on doors and trying to learn more about what happened. Did you see the lightning strike? Did you hear or see anything unusual? Do you know who was struck or have information that could help us understand what happened? We’d like to hear from you. Send us a DM here or contact NBC Palm Springs if you witnessed the incident or have information to share. #PalmSprings #ChinoCanyon #Lightning #PalmSpringsNews #NBCPalmSprings CoachellaValley BreakingNews