JWST reveals likely Type II supernova from when universe was only 2 billion years old

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified one of the most distant exploding stars ever confirmed. The supernova, SN 2023aeaf, was found at a redshift of 3.195—so far away that its light has been traveling for roughly 11.7 billion years. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal on Aug. 13, offers a close-up look at how massive stars die in the young universe's primitive, metal-poor conditions.

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