Research News
Thai Astronomers Use JWST to Track Supernova,
Find Rapid Dust Formation
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization) (NARIT), under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), reports that Dr. Samaporn Tinyanont, a researcher at NARIT, has used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to follow the evolution of Supernova 2014C (SN 2014C). The study reveals an unexpectedly rapid increase in newly formed dust, extending current understanding of how dust forms in supernovae and pointing to a process that has not been clearly observed before. The findings may help explain the origin of elements that make up the Earth. The research was published in The Astrophysical Journal in 2025. [1]
Dr. Samaporn Tinyanont, a researcher in cosmology and high-energy astrophysics at NARIT, explained that when a massive star reaches the end of its life, nuclear fuel in its core is exhausted and can no longer support the star against its own gravity. The core collapses rapidly and triggers a supernova explosion, one of the most energetic events in the universe. This process ejects material produced by nuclear fusion in the stellar interior into the interstellar medium. These materials later contribute to the formation of new stars and planetary systems. Without supernovae, essential elements for life such as oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and heavier elements like iron would not be dispersed and incorporated into planets like Earth.
Supernova 2014C is unusual compared to typical supernovae and is classified as a transitional Type Ib event. Its progenitor star was rich in helium but poor in hydrogen, while the surrounding circumstellar material is hydrogen-rich, having been expelled before the explosion. When the supernova occurred, the shock wave collided with this surrounding material, producing long-lasting interaction that has allowed the system to be studied over many years. This provides a valuable opportunity to trace how newly synthesized elements and dust evolve and are released into the surrounding environment.
Observations of SN 2014C with JWST using mid-infrared spectroscopy show that the supernova ejecta are still interacting with the surrounding hydrogen-rich material, even nearly a decade after the explosion. The data reveal a large cold dust reservoir surrounding the system, with a total dust mass exceeding 20,000 Earth masses. This is among the largest dust masses ever detected in a supernova and is more than ten times higher than earlier estimates based on observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2019. [2] The results also indicate that this dust reservoir has grown rapidly over time, pointing to efficient late-time dust formation in the system.
This growth occurred within only about nine years after the explosion, making it one of the fastest dust growth rates ever observed in a supernova. One reason this has rarely been seen is the limited number of long-term studies of dust formation after supernova explosions. In addition, the retirement of the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2020 created a gap in infrared observations before JWST began operations in late 2021. This study is therefore one of the few that can track dust formation over a period of nearly a decade after the explosion.
A graph showing the unprecedented increase in dust mass around SN 2014C (red line), compared to previously studied supernovae.
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched on December 25, 2021, is the most advanced space telescope. It features a 6.5-meter primary mirror and operates at the second Lagrange point (L2) of the Sun-Earth system, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. JWST began full science operations in July 2022 and is designed to observe the universe in infrared wavelengths, allowing astronomers to study the formation of stars and galaxies, as well as dust and molecules that are not easily detected at other wavelengths. It is also one of the most highly competitive observatories in astronomy, with strong global demand for observing time.
References:
[1] Tinyanont et al. 2025, The Astrophysical Journal, 985, 198 https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025ApJ...985..198T/abstract
[2] Tinyanont et al. 2019, The Astrophysical Journal, 887, 75 https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ApJ...887...75T/abstract