NASA captures a 'boom' in space from 600 million light years away

NASA has shared an image of a celestial "boom" that was captured by the iconic Hubble Space Telescope, which peered at the event from 600 million light years away.

Located in the constellation Gemini, Hubble captured the above image, showcasing a supernova taking place. The "boom" or supernova is the blue dot at the center of the image, and according to NASA's recent statement, the supernova is called SN 2022aajn and has never been the subject of published research. However, SN 2022aajn is classified as a Type Ia supernova, which results from the explosion of the core of a dead star.

These types of supernovae assist astronomers in determining the distance between Earth and distant galaxies, as these types of supernovae have the same "intrinsic luminosity - no matter how bright they seem from Earth." Astronomers can then compare the observed brightness to the known intrinsic brightness, enabling a calculation to be done on the distance to the supernova and to it's host galaxy. There is one small problem that throws a wrench into this method of calculating distance. Cosmic dust.

"The farther away a supernova is, the fainter and redder it will appear - but intergalactic dust can make a supernova appear fainter and redder as well. To understand this complication, researchers will use Hubble to survey a total of 100 Type Ia supernovae in seven wavelength bands from ultraviolet to near-infrared. This image combines data taken at four infrared wavelengths.

Infrared light passes through dust more easily than visible or ultraviolet light. By comparing the brightness of the sampled supernovae across different wavelengths, researchers can disentangle the effects of dust and distance, helping to improve measurements of galaxies billions of light-years away," reads NASA's statement