August M
Astronomers say a fleeting burst of energy from deep space may be the earliest supernova ever observed. The discovery is giving scientists an unprecedented look at how stars and galaxies behaved when the universe was still extremely young.
The finding is striking not only because of its age, but because of how familiar it appears.
Earliest known blast
According to LADbible, citing NASA, the event came from a massive star collapsing when the universe was just 730 million years old—around five percent of its current age. This places it within the first billion years after the Big Bang, a period that remains poorly understood
Only a very small number of gamma-ray bursts have ever been traced back to this early era. Researchers say this makes the event exceptionally rare.
“This particular event is very rare and very exciting,” said Andrew Levan, a professor at Radboud University in the Netherlands and the University of Warwick in the UK.
Webb’s crucial role
The breakthrough came from observations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Scientists said Webb was able to directly confirm that the light came from a supernova, something earlier instruments could not do at such distances.
“Only Webb could directly show that this light is from a supernova — a collapsing massive star,” Levan said.
“This observation also demonstrates that we can use Webb to find individual stars when the universe was only 5 percent of its current age.”
Researchers reported their findings in two papers published in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters.
A familiar pattern
What surprised the team most was how closely the explosion resembled supernovas seen in the modern universe. Despite forming billions of years ago, it showed no obvious differences in structure or behaviour.
“We went in with open minds,” said Nial Tanvir, a professor at the University of Leicester. “And lo and behold, Webb showed that this supernova looks exactly like modern supernovae.”
Co-author Emeric Le Floc’h added that Webb’s data suggests the distant host galaxy is similar to others that existed at the same cosmic time.
Background detection
The event was first detected on 14 March as a brief, 10-second flash of energy. It was flagged by the SVOM space mission and later confirmed through follow-up observations, allowing astronomers to determine its extreme distance and age.
The lingering afterglow will help researchers study similar early-universe events in the future. Levan said “that glow will help Webb see more and give us a fingerprint of the galaxy”.
Scientists hope the discovery will open new paths to understanding the universe’s first stars and explosions.
Sources: LADBIBLE, NASA, Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters
