A massive star’s collapse has created a shockwave that blasted outward, producing a brief pulse of X-rays and ultraviolet light. This event, occurring approximately 350 years ago, has finally reached interstellar material, illuminating it and causing it to glow in infrared light. The James Webb Space Telescope has captured this phenomenon, revealing fine details resembling the knots and whorls of wood grain.
Astronomers have mapped the true three-dimensional structure of the interstellar medium for the first time, using the telescope’s observations. The data shows layers like an onion, with dense, dusty regions that resemble magnetic “islands” embedded within more streamlined fields.
“We see layers like an onion,” said Josh Peek of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, a member of the science team. “We think every dense, dusty region looks like this on the inside.”
The discovery is significant as it provides new insights into the structure and behavior of interstellar material. The team plans to use Webb’s MIRI instrument to target the light echo multiple times, observing its evolution over weeks or months.
Infrared light echoes are rare due to specific supernova explosions with short pulses of energetic radiation. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will conduct a survey that may find evidence of additional infrared light echoes for Webb to study in detail.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory, solving mysteries in our solar system and looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars. The telescope is an international program led by NASA with partners ESA and CSA.
Media Contacts:
– Jacob Jencson (Caltech/IPAC)
Source: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-reveals-intricate-layers-of-interstellar-dust-gas