Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope and gravitational lensing have found an exploding star whose delayed images are still years away from reaching Earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope and gravitational lensing helped astronomers identify SN Ares in August 2025 within the galaxy cluster MACS J0308.9+2645 as a Type IIb supernova, a massive star that lost its outer layers before exploding. The discovery paper posted on Oct. 23 predicts two more magnified images will appear in about 73 and 76 years. The delayed light could eventually help scientists make an extremely precise measurement of the universe's expansion rate.