Type Ia Supernovae Identified as New Source of Cosmic Dust

Overview

• Astronomers have discovered that Type Ia supernovae, previously not associated with significant dust creation, are a new source of cosmic dust.
• This discovery challenges the long-held belief that only core-collapse supernovae in spiral galaxies were responsible for cosmic dust formation.
• The study, led by Prof. Wang Lingzhi, utilized a range of telescopes to monitor supernova SN 2018evt over three years, revealing the process of dust formation.
• The amount of dust created by SN 2018evt is estimated to be more than 1% of the Sun's mass, with potential for a tenfold increase as the supernova cools.
• This finding could explain the presence of dust in elliptical galaxies and has implications for our understanding of cosmic dust's role in galactic evolution.