Life and death are part of a cycle. When an animal dies, its body decomposes and releases important nutrients into the soil. These nutrients then help give birth to other life in the form of plants and microorganisms. Apparently this also applies to space, as Webb’s new observations of supernovae could teach us more about how young, early galaxies get their fuel to form stars and planets.

A supernova is a star that suddenly increases its brightness billions of times (magnitude 20) and sometimes more. According to scientists, “dying” stars emit the biggest bursts of energy and light into our universe.

Now, Webb’s new observations of two supernovae in the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946) may provide some clues as to how galaxies get the dust they need to make stars.

According to the STScI bulletin, a new article also published Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, dust from these supernovae was ejected in the explosion, which could then be used by nearby galaxies to accelerate the birth of stars and planets. This is because dust is a key part of the formation of many things in the universe, especially planets.

Therefore, dust ejected from a dying star would make sense as the source of the cosmic dust used to grow galaxies in the early days of our universe. However, Melissa Shahbande, who works with Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), explained that until these recent Webb observations, there was little direct evidence for this.