Scientists discover dust reservoirs, the building block of universe, in two supernovae

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Dust, the building block for many things in our universe – planets in particular, has puzzled astronomers for several decades. As dust from dying stars spreads through space, it carries essential elements to help give birth to the next generation of stars and their planets. But, where the dust comes from? A recent discovery by researchers has made major strides in confirming the source of dust in early galaxies.

Observations of two supernovae, Supernova 2004et (SN 2004et) and Supernova 2017eaw (SN 2017eaw), by James Webb Space Telescope have supported the theory that supernovae played a key role in supplying dust to the early universe. The study was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on July 5. “Direct evidence of this phenomenon has been slim up to this point, with our capabilities only allowing us to study the dust population in one relatively nearby supernova to date – Supernova 1987A, 170,000 light-years away from Earth," said lead author Melissa Shahbandeh of Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

“When the gas cools enough to form dust, that dust is only detectable at mid-infrared wavelengths provided you have enough sensitivity," Shahbandeh added. Another particularly intriguing result of their study isn’t just the detection of dust, but the amount of dust detected at this early stage in the supernova’s life. In SN 2004et, the researchers found more than 5,000 Earth masses of dust.