Research
A cosmic magnifying glass could reveal the same supernova two more times in roughly 70 years
Phys.org ·
The Brief
- Astronomers used gravitational lensing from a massive galaxy cluster and JWST high-resolution images to discover an exploding star when the universe was 4.9 billion years old.
- The discovery paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server.
- The lensing could show the same supernova two more times in roughly 70 years, according to the source.
Why it matters
Lensed supernovae that reappear at different times allow astronomers to measure the expansion of the universe and test lensing models, so the prediction is a concrete test for future observations.
Who’s affected
- astronomers studying gravitational lensing and supernovae
- cosmology researchers working on the expansion rate of the universe
- #gravitational lensing
- #supernova
- #james webb space telescope
- #galaxy clusters
- #cosmology
Thanks to the gravitational lensing caused by a massive galaxy cluster and high-resolution images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers discovered an exploding star when the universe was 4.9 billion years old. The discovery paper, posted to the arXiv preprint…
Timeline
Space News article reports the supernova discovery and the predicted repeat images
Space News - Space, Astronomy, Space Exploration
A cosmic magnifying glass could reveal the same supernova two more times in roughly 70 years