A team of astrophysicists has made a groundbreaking discovery that sheds new light on the origins of cosmic dust, which is believed to be the building block of the universe. According to Melissa Shahbandeh, an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), specks of cosmic dust and gas clump together over millions of years to form large, dense clouds that eventually give rise to planets and stars.
However, the source of this dust has been a mystery for a long time. Now, thanks to data from NASA’s JWST space observatory, Shahbandeh and her colleagues have found a likely explanation: giant stellar explosions called interacting supernovae. These intense shockwaves can blast out dusty plumes that accumulate in the supernova’s surroundings.
The discovery was made by analyzing images taken with the JWST of four interacting supernovae that occurred around 300 million years ago. The team detected light wavelengths characteristic of aluminum, silicate, and carbon dust, which were not seen in previous data. One of these supernovae, called 2005ip, produced a massive amount of dust equal to 10% of the Sun’s mass.
The researchers used a combination of JWST and Spitzer Space Telescope data to confirm that the dust was indeed created by the supernova explosions. They found that the shockwaves from the supernovae were responsible for blowing out dusty plumes, which then cooled and condensed into particles.
This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of the early universe and the formation of planets like Earth. According to Shahbandeh, if we can understand how dust formed in the early times, it may also provide clues about how life on Earth emerged.
While more data is needed to confirm this mechanism, the team is optimistic that future observations with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and other giant telescopes will provide further insights into the role of supernovae in shaping the universe’s early dust.
Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/early-supernovae-may-have-filled-universe-planet-forming-dust