While on Earth dust may mostly seem like a housecleaning nuisance, in the far reaches of space, it plays an exciting role in galaxy research. Although the existence of dust in space continues to be surrounded by intrigue, an international team of astronomers recently identified a type Ia supernova creating cosmic dust.
A new study published in Nature Astronomy highlighted this previously unknown source of cosmic dust. Prior to the study, dust formation has been observed in supernovae, but only in core-collapse supernovae that occur when a massive star explodes.
"The origins of cosmic dust have long been a mystery. This study marks the first detection of a significant and rapid dust formation process in the thermonuclear supernova interacting with circumstellar gas," said first author Wang Lingzhi, from the South America Center for Astronomy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a press release.
