James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

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Close-up images show how stars explode in real time

by Noelle Toumey Reetz, Georgia State University - edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan

 

Astronomers have captured images of two stellar explosions—known as novae—within days of their eruption and in unprecedented detail. The breakthrough provides direct evidence that these explosions are more complex than previously thought, with multiple outflows of material and, in some cases, dramatic delays in the ejection process.

 

"Novae are more than fireworks in our galaxy—they are laboratories for extreme physics," said Professor Laura Chomiuk, a co-author from Michigan State University and an expert on stellar explosions. "By seeing how and when the material is ejected, we can finally connect the dots between the nuclear reactions on the star's surface, the geometry of the ejected material and the high-energy radiation we detect from space."

 

The findings challenge the long-held view that nova eruptions are single, impulsive events. Instead, they point to a variety of ejection pathways, including multiple outflows and delayed envelope release, reshaping our understanding of these cosmic blasts.

 

"This is just the beginning," Aydi said. "With more observations like these, we can finally start answering big questions about how stars live, die and affect their surroundings. Novae, once seen as simple explosions, are turning out to be much richer and more fascinating than we imagined."

 

Article link:

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-images-stars-real.html#lightbox

 

Pic Descriptions:
Artistic impression of Nova V1674 Herculis. Credit: The CHARA Array

 

Scientists at Georgia State's CHARA Array captured images of Nova V1674 Herculis—one of the fastest stellar explosions on record. Images of Nova V1674 Herculis obtained 2.2 days (left) and 3.2 days (middle) after the explosion. The images reveal the formation of two distinct, perpendicular outflows of gas, as highlighted by the green arrows. The panel on the right shows an artistic impression of the explosion. Credit: The CHARA Array

 

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NASA’s Webb Identifies Earliest Supernova to Date, Shows Host Galaxy

December 09, 2025 11:00am Release ID: 2025-137

 

Summary

The telescope captured near-infrared light from one of the earliest stars seen to explode in the history of the universe.

 

With a few near-infrared snapshots, the James Webb Space Telescope nailed down the source of a super bright flash of light known as a gamma-ray burst, generated when a massive star exploded when the universe was only 730 million years old.

 

And, for the first time at this point in the history of the universe, the telescope provided a detection of the resulting supernova’s host galaxy.

 

Webb’s quick-turn observations verified data taken by telescopes around the world that were following the gamma-ray burst that turned up in mid-March.

 

Article link:

https://www.stsci.edu/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-137.html/

 

Pic Description [1]:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope identified the source of a super bright flash of light known as a gamma-ray burst: a supernova that exploded when the universe was only 730 million years old. Webb’s high-resolution near-infrared images also detected the supernova’s host galaxy.

Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Andrew Levan (Radboud University); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

 

With this observation, Webb also broke its own record: The previous chart-topping supernova exploded when the universe was 1.8 billion years old.

 

Pic Description [2]:

This two-part illustration represents supernova GRB 250314A as it was exploding and three months after that, when Webb observed it. Webb confirmed the supernova occurred when the universe was only 730 million years old. The star clusters at top-left represent its host galaxy.

Artwork: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Leah Hustak (STScI)

 

Edited December 9 by ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone

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NASA's Roman Telescope Will Observe Thousands of Newfound Cosmic Voids

December 15, 2025 10:00am Release ID: 2025-201

 

Summary

The resulting “big data” will help illuminate the nature of dark energy.

 

What do fizzing champagne glasses and our universe have in common? They’re both full of bubbles! The cosmic bubbles are vast structures hundreds of millions of light-years across. Their walls are outlined by collections of galaxies. The details of these bubbles – their size, shape, and distribution – can tell us more about the mysterious force known as dark energy that is causing the universe’s expansion to accelerate. The upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will detect and measure tens of thousands of cosmic voids, some as small as just 20 million light-years across.

 

Full Article:

https://www.stsci.edu/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-201

 

Video [1min] Description:

This narrated video sequence illustrates how the Roman Space Telescope will be able to observe cosmic voids in the universe. These highly detailed measurements will help constrain cosmological models.

 

Video Link:

https://youtu.be/jk7RIoxcnSo?si=BI7MSr7IhoEnuHnr

 

 

 

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NASA's Hubble Sees Asteroids Colliding at Nearby Star for First Time
18 Dec 2025 2:00pm Release ID: 2025

Summary
The spectacular, resulting dust cloud mimics the appearance of a planet.

First you don’t see it, now you do! While Hubble astronomers were repeatedly viewing the nearby star Fomalhaut and its planetary system, they suddenly saw a point of light appear out of nowhere. This object did not show up in any of their previous observations. The scientists quickly realized that Hubble had captured the violent collision of two massive objects, an extraordinary event unlike anything in our own present-day solar system. The huge debris cloud created by this impact looked like a newly found exoplanet.

 

Article link:
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-sees-asteroids-colliding-at-nearby-star-for-first-time/

 

Video explanation  [3min]:

 

 

Pic Description [1]:
This composite Hubble Space Telescope image shows the debris ring and dust clouds cs1 and cs2 around the star Fomalhaut. Fomalhaut itself is masked out to allow the fainter features to be seen. Its location is marked by the white star.
Image: NASA, ESA, Paul Kalas (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

 

Pic Description [2]:
This artist's concept shows the sequence of events leading up to the creation of dust cloud cs2 around the star Fomalhaut. In Panel 1, the star Fomalhaut appears in the top left corner. Two white dots, located in the bottom right corner, represent the two massive objects in orbit around Fomalhaut. In Panel 2, the objects approach each other. Panel 3 shows the violent collision of these two objects. In Panel 4, the resulting dust cloud cs2 becomes visible and starlight pushes the dust grains away from the star.
Artwork: NASA, ESA, STScI, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

Edited 18 hours ago by ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone