Technology
Importance of New Technology
​
Researchers have spent a vsast amount of time and money over the past several decades looking through telescopes fhoping they have the chance to observe a supernovae. Now with our advanced technology, such as the James Webb telescope, we are able to make more detailed observations than ever before, creating new hypotheses, theories and laws. As Nabeel Rehmtulla put it “{we have the ability for} streamlining large studies of supernovae” which can help identify more aspects of supernovae.
Discoveries with AI
Scientists from Northwestern University of Chicago, have used AI to discover SN2023tyk, a type 1A supernovae located in the galaxy J2000. Three bots were used in this supernova discovery, the ZTF, BTS, and SED machines. On Oct 3rd, 2024 the ZTF bot collected the images of the light, later, on Oct 5th the Bright Transient Survey Bot sifted through the photos until it found the anomaly amongst them. It does this by looking for light that wasn't in prior images. The bot has over 1.4 million historical images from 16,000 different sources of supernovae, flaring stars, and flaring galaxies, leading to a more advanced reading. The bot then requested a more in-depth analysis from the Palomar observatory based in California. This is where the SED machine observes and places all the light on the spectrum to classify the supernovae.
Figure 11. Diagram of James Webb telescope
Figure 12. Photo of a supernova discovered by an AI
NuSTAR
The NuSTAR or nuclear spectroscopic telescope array, is a high-energy x-ray that made out the first map of supernovae remnants for Cassiopeia A. We have found out that shock waves rip apart these massive dying stars, however, it's not an explosion that causes a supernova but instead, it's the insides of the star sloshing around before detonating. This energizes the shock waves which then blast outwards, pushing away the outer layers. A fun thought is that Cass A’s light reached us hundreds of years ago, we are only now seeing its explosion in its youth! The NuSTAR has allowed us to see how stars detonate, this closes some theories such as stars rapidly rotate before dying, or that they send out gas that causes more explosions. We can more thoroughly look through supernovae remnants with the NuSTAR because it gives us the ability to see non-heated materials, which we were unable to do before.
Figure 13. Photo of NuSTAR Telescope
Other Technolagy
James Webb telescope has helped scientists make many discoveries. One is the galaxy Messier 82, which we now know is 12 million lightyears away in the constellation Ursa Major. In this galaxy, we have found that they produce stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way, due to this more supernovae coming to be. This leads to galactic wind, which we are now studying as it shows how losing gas can affect the shape of the universe. We can see this wind through webbs NIR cam (near infrared). These are only two of the many different technologies that aid our advancements in space.
Figure 14. Photo of the Milky Way
Environmental Impacts
​
While supernovae are a great source of information, monitoring them does have its downsides, mainly the negative effects on our environment. Telescopes used for studying and analyzing space emits around 20 million metric tons of CO2 annually. Most of the carbon emissions come from the launching of said telescope into space. Most notably, the James Webb telescope alone released around 1.22 million metric tons of CO2 when launched. Such pollution causes a rise in climate change, wildlife and indigenous communities feel the brunt of these repercussions.