Supernovae are the Source of Dust in Early Galaxies - by briankoberlein
Dust plays a central role not only as a source of heavier elements but also in the formation of planets around young stars. Without dust, planets such as Earth would be much less likely to form. Since dust can be found in supernova remnants, it makes sense to assume that supernovae create dust. But it could also be the case that supernovae mostly cast off molecular gas, which then coalesces to dust through some process we don’t understand. We didn’t really have evidence either way.
But we hadn’t directly observed this process in the early universe until now. Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope , a team observed high quantities of dust in the remnants of two supernovae, SN 2004et and SN 2017eaw. In the case of 2004et, the team observed 5,000 Earth-masses worth of dust. Given how young these supernova remnants are, it demonstrates how quickly supernovae can seed dust into a galaxy, and how they can contribute large quantities to interstellar space.
In the future, the team hopes to study what galactic dust can teach us about the supernovae that created it. In the case of SN 2004et and SN 2017eaw, both are Type II supernovae, also known as core-collapse supernovae. Because we saw them explode, we have a good idea of what their chemical composition was. By comparing this to the composition of their dust, astronomers will have a better understanding of how variations in supernova origins can lead to variations in dust composition.
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