--- title: "There’s Something Seriously Weird About This Supernova" description: "The James Webb Space Telescope has captured some bizarre imagery of an exploding star that, for some reason, kept repeating itself." date: "2024-10-02" modified: "2024-10-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/supernova-james-webb-hubble-constant" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "hubble constant" - "james webb space telescope" - "supernova" - "the digest" --- # There’s Something Seriously Weird About This Supernova ![]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Explosive Findings The James Webb Space Telescope has captured some bizarre imagery of an exploding star that, for some reason, kept repeating itself. In a [press release](), NASA said that new Webb images of what researchers have dubbed "Supernova H0pe" could provide more evidence than ever that our current understanding of the Universe is completely off-kilter. Back in 2015, Hubble also captured imagery of the same supernova. But in the latest snaps of the hosting galaxy cluster called TK X light years away, something was vastly different — there were three dots that all appeared to correspond to *the same star explosion*. "It all started with one question by the team: 'What are those three dots that weren’t there before? Could that be a supernova?'" said astronomer Brenda Frye of the University of Arizona, one of the lead writers on a [paper awaiting peer review]() about the stunning find, in a statement. Fyre and her colleagues concluded that [Webb's cutting-edge gravitational lensing]() created this fascinating three-dot problem. "The lens, consisting of a cluster of galaxies that is situated between the supernova and us, bends the supernova’s light into multiple images," she said. "This is similar to how a trifold vanity mirror presents three different images of a person sitting in front of it." "In the Webb image, this was demonstrated right before our eyes in that the middle image was flipped relative to the other two images, a 'lensing' effect predicted by theory," she added. ## Trifold Supernova The Supernova H0pe image ended up showing three versions of the same supernova because, as Frye continued, "the light traveled along three different paths." "Since each path had a different length, and light traveled at the same speed, the supernova was imaged in this Webb observation at three different times during its explosion," the astronomer elaborated. The values related to these time delays seem, in turn, to be compelling evidence for the rate of universal expansion that's otherwise known as the [Hubble constant](), which was discovered Edwin Hubble — the space telescope's namesake — nearly 100 years ago. "Trifold supernova images are special: The time delays, supernova distance, and gravitational lensing properties yield a value for the Hubble constant," Frye enthused. "The supernova was named SN H0pe since it gives astronomers hope to better understand the universe’s changing expansion rate." After crunching the numbers, Frye and her fellow researchers determined that the measurements taken from the new Webb images of the supernova do seem to back up Hubble's constant — a finding that would have been exciting on its own even without the triple-dot wonder. With H0pe's Hubble constant value matching "other measurements in the local universe," the astronomer said that she and her team have discovered something "impactful." The team is now hoping to get an even closer look at the distant Supernova H0pe and others like it in the future using the James Webb telescope. **More on Webb:** [*The James Webb Telescope Just Made a Fascinating Discovery About Pluto’s Huge Icy Moon*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()