Skip to main content

James Webb captures stunning image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A

A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a famous supernova remnant called Cassiopeia A, or Cas A. When a massive star comes to the end of its life and explodes in a huge outpouring of light and energy called a supernova, it leaves behind a dense core that can become a black hole or a neutron star. But that’s not all that remains after a supernova: the explosion can leave its mark on nearby clouds of dust and gas that are formed into intricate structures.

The image of Cas A was taken using Webb’s MIRI instrument, which looks in the mid-infrared range. Located 11,000 light-years away, Cassiopeia A is one of the brightest objects in the sky in the radio wavelength, and is also visible in the optical, infrared, and X-ray wavelengths. To see the different features picked up in different wavelengths, you can look at the slider comparison of the Webb infrared image alongside a Hubble visible light image of the same object.

Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a supernova remnant located about 11,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. It spans approximately 10 light-years. This new image uses data from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to reveal Cas A in a new light.This image combines various filters with the color red assigned to 25.5 microns (F2550W), orange-red to 21 microns (F2100W), orange to 18 microns (F1800W), yellow to 12.8 microns (F1280W), green to 11.3 microns (F1130W), cyan to 10 microns (F1000W), light blue to 7.7 microns (F770W), and blue to 5.6 microns (F560W). The data comes from general observer program 1947.
Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a supernova remnant located about 11,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. It spans approximately 10 light-years. This new image uses data from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to reveal Cas A in a new light.  IMAGE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Tea Temim (Princeton University), Ilse De Looze (UGent) IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

With Webb’s high sensitivity, new details are visible in this remnant. “Compared to previous infrared images, we see incredible detail that we haven’t been able to access before,” said Tea Temim of Princeton University, a co-investigator of the Webb observation program, which took the image, in a statement.

Recommended Videos

By studying these details, astronomers can learn about the aftereffects of supernovae — which is particularly important because these explosions create many of the heavier elements in our universe such as silicon, sulfur, and iron. “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 principal investigator Danny Milisavljevic of Purdue University.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“By understanding the process of exploding stars, we’re reading our own origin story,” said Milisavljevic. “I’m going to spend the rest of my career trying to understand what’s in this data set.”

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
James Webb spots ancient Spiderweb cluster that’s 10 billion years old
This image shows the Spiderweb protocluster as seen by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera).

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows thousands of glittering galaxies that it spied by peering through clouds of dust and using its infrared instruments to reveal what lies beneath. In the center of the image is the Spiderweb protocluster, which is a group of galaxies in the early stages of forming a "cosmic city."

The light from the Spiderweb has been traveling for an astonishing 10 billion years to reach us, so looking at it is like looking back in time to the early stages of the universe. Astronomers are interested in studying this cluster of over 100 galaxies interacting together because it shows how galaxies clumped together to form groups when the universe was still young.

Read more
Webb and Hubble snap the same object for two views of one galaxy
Featured in this NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month is the spiral galaxy NGC 2090, located in the constellation Columba. This combination of data from Webb’s MIRI and NIRCam instruments shows the galaxy’s two winding spiral arms and the swirling gas and dust of its disc in magnificent and unique detail.

With all the excitement over the last few years for the shiny and new James Webb Space Telescope, it's easy to forget about the grand old master of the space telescopes, Hubble. But although Webb is a successor to Hubble in some ways, with newer technology and the ability to see the universe in even greater detail, it isn't a replacement. A pair of new images shows why: with the same galaxy captured by both Webb and Hubble, you can see the different details picked out by each telescope and why having both of them together is such a great boon for scientists.

The galaxy NGC 2090 was imaged by Webb, shown above, using its MIRI and NIRCam instruments. These instruments operate in the mid-infrared and near-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum respectively, which is why the arms of this galaxy appear to be glowing red. These arms are made of swirling gas and dust, and within them are compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that glow brightly in the infrared. The blue color in the center of the galaxy shows a region of young stars burning hot and bright.

Read more
Stunning view of the Sombrero Galaxy captured by James Webb
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged the Sombrero galaxy with its MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), resolving the clumpy nature of the dust along the galaxy’s outer ring. The mid-infrared light highlights the gas and dust that are part of star formation taking place among the Sombrero galaxy’s outer disk. The rings of the Sombrero galaxy produce less than one solar mass of stars per year, in comparison to the Milky Way’s roughly two solar masses a year. It’s not a particular hotbed of star formation. The Sombrero galaxy is around 30 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo.

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a stunning and fashionable sight: the Sombrero Galaxy, named for its resemblance to the traditional Mexican hat. With its wide, flat shape reminiscent of the hat's wide brim, the galaxy, also known as Messier 104, has outer rings that are clearly visible for the first time.

The Sombrero Galaxy is located 30 million light-years away, in the constellation of Virgo, and it has been previously imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. But while in the Hubble image, the galaxy appears as an opaque, pale disk, in the new Webb image you can see an outer blue disk, with a small bright core right at the center.

Read more