Creationism Refuted - Stardust Creation 1,300 Years Before 'Creation Week'

Cassiopeia A

JWST

Cassiopeia A

JWST Unveils Stunning Ejecta and CO Structures in Cassiopeia A's Young Supernova

Todays' refutation of creationism comes to us from the field of astronomy and in particular the details of what happened and is still happening in the expanding supernova remnant known as Cassiopeia A which has a super-dense body at its centre, probably a neutron star, the collapsed remains of the parent star.

A neutron star is the remains of an old star that was too large to collapse to a white dwarf but not large enough to become a black hole. In a neutron star, the pressure due to gravity is so intense that even atoms compress, and electrons are forced into protons to become neutrons, so the star becomes nothing but neutrons. Due to conservation of angular momentum a neutron star has a rotation rate in seconds or less.

Cassiopeia A (Cas A) was observed in the night sky 350 years ago. It is 11,000 light years away, so the light the explosion generated reached Earth 11,000 years after the explosion, which simple maths tells us happened 1,350 years before creationists think the Universe was created. It was of course an event in that long, 13.8 billion years pre-'Creation' history of the Universe when 99.99999% of its history, and 99.9975% of the history of Earth occurred.

A supernova like Cas A is the birthplace of star dust out of which Earth and everything on it is made. It is the stuff that connects us to the rest of the universe and to which we, or rather the atoms and molecules that we are made of, will return to be recycled into future planets around future suns, when our own sun swallows up the inner planets then goes supernova itself, and flings our atoms out into the cosmos to be recycled as new suns and planetary systems, maybe to be studied by cosmologists on some other planet wondering about that sudden flash of light in the Milky Way, that was the death of our sun.

As I said in What Makes You So Special? From the Big Bang to You:

Stars died and because they died, you live. You are made by stars out of stardust and in a very real sense; because you are made of the same stuff the Universe is made of and are a part of it, there is something even more wonderful about you. Through you, though not just through you, and maybe not just here on this small planet, the Universe has gained self–awareness and can begin to understand itself.

Through you it can stand on the surface of this beautiful little jewel in the cosmos, can look up in awe at itself and think "Wow!"

What Makes You So Special? From the Big Bang to You, page 152

What can you tell me about the supernova Cassiopeia A? Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is one of the most studied supernova remnants in the Milky Way Galaxy. Here are some key details about Cas A:

Basic Facts:

1. Location: It is located in the constellation Cassiopeia, about 11,000 light-years from Earth.
2. Age: The light from the supernova explosion that created Cas A is estimated to have reached Earth around 1680, making the event itself about 340 years old in terms of observed light.
3. Type: It is a Type IIb supernova, which is characterized by the collapse of a massive star that has lost most of its hydrogen envelope before exploding.

Physical Characteristics:

1. Remnant Structure: Cas A is an expanding shell of gas and dust, approximately 10 light-years across. The remnant includes a central compact object, believed to be a neutron star.
2. Expansion: The remnant is expanding at a rate of about 4,000-6,000 kilometers per second.
3. Composition: The remnant contains a variety of elements, including oxygen, sulfur, and silicon. The material ejected from the supernova is rich in these heavy elements, which are crucial for understanding nucleosynthesis in stars.

Observations:

1. Multi-wavelength Studies: Cas A has been observed in various wavelengths, including radio, infrared, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray. Each wavelength provides different information about the physical conditions and processes within the remnant.
2. Chandra X-ray Observatory: One of the most detailed observations of Cas A comes from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has provided high-resolution images revealing the complex structure of the remnant.
3. Infrared and Optical: Infrared observations, particularly from the Spitzer Space Telescope, have helped in understanding the dust content, while optical observations provide details about the expansion and velocity of the remnant.

Scientific Importance:

1. Nucleosynthesis: Studying Cas A helps astronomers learn about the production of heavy elements in supernova explosions, which are essential for the formation of planets and life.
2. Supernova Mechanisms: It provides insights into the mechanisms of supernova explosions, particularly the dynamics of core collapse in massive stars.
3. Cosmic Ray Sources: Cas A is also important for understanding the acceleration of cosmic rays, as supernova remnants are thought to be significant sources of these high-energy particles.

Notable Features:

1. Compact Object: The remnant contains a compact object, likely a neutron star, which was formed from the collapsed core of the progenitor star.
2. Light Echoes: Observations of light echoes from Cas A have allowed astronomers to study the supernova explosion itself, despite it occurring centuries ago. These echoes are reflections of the original light off interstellar dust.

Cas A remains a crucial object of study for astronomers aiming to understand the life cycles of stars, the dynamics of supernova explosions, and the enrichment of the interstellar medium.

Now, with the aid of images of Cas A supplied by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists at The SETI Institute have been able to understand more about the processes that occur in a supernova. Their findings are the subject of an open access paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and a press release from the SETI Institute:

JWST Unveils Stunning Ejecta and CO Structures in Cassiopeia A's Young Supernova

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The SETI Institute announced the latest findings from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the supernova remnant, Cassiopeia A (Cas A). These observations of the youngest known core collapse supernova in the Milky Way provide insights into the conditions that lead to the formation and destruction of molecules and dust within supernova ejecta.

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The study’s findings change our understanding of dust formation in the early universe in the galaxies detected by JWST 300 million years after the Big Bang. Researchers consider supernovae, such as those that formed Cas A, vital sources of the dust seen in distant, high-redshift galaxies. These new insights challenge beliefs that dust primarily originated from intermediate-mass stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) in present-day galaxies.

It is remarkable to see how bright the carbon monoxide emission detected in JWST NIR imaging and spectroscopy, showing a few tens of sinusoidal patterns of CO fundamental rovibrational lines. The patterns look like they were artificially generated.

Dr. Jeonghee Rho, lead author
Senior research scientist
SETI Institute.

Key findings include:

1. Molecular CO Formation: The data shows more CO gas in the outer layers than argon gas, which means CO molecules are forming again after the reverse shock. This data is important for understanding how cooling and dust formation happen after a supernova explosion. The images indicate CO molecules are reformed behind the shock and may have protected the dust in the ejecta.
2. Detailed Spectroscopy: The NIRSpec-IFU spectra of two significant areas in Cas A show differences in how elements were formed. Both regions have strong CO gas signals and show various ionized elements like argon, silicon, calcium, and magnesium. The fundamental CO lines are a few tens of sinusoidal patterns of CO fundamental rovibrational lines with a continuum-like underneath due to the high velocity of the CO molecules.
3. [T]emperature Insights: The research shows that the temperature is about 1080 K, based on the CO gas emissions. This helps us understand how dust, molecules, and highly ionized gas interact in supernovae. However, the authors also find vibrational lines in high rotational (J=90) lines, which features appear between 4.3-4.4 microns. These lines indicate the presence of hotter (4800 K) temperature component, implying CO formation and reformation at the same time. CO from such high rotational levels is first seen in Cas A with the new JWST spectroscopy.
4. Supernovae such as Cas A, located 11,000 light years away, are explosions that occur when a high mass star comes to the end of its life about 350 years ago. Called a core collapse supernova, the star’s interior collapses inwards due to gravity once the nuclear fuel that powered the star is depleted. The rebound of this collapse blows the star’s outer shell into space in an explosion that can outshine an entire galaxy.

To see such hot CO in a young supernova remnant is truly remarkable and indicates that CO formation is still happening hundreds of years after the explosion. Combining such impressive data sets with earlier JWST observations of supernovae will allow us to understand the pathway to molecules and dust formation in a way not previously possible.

Assistant Professor, Chris Ashall
Virginia Tec.

Groundbreaking Images and Spectroscopy
The observations utilized JWST’s Near Infrared Camera Instrument (NIRCam) and the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI), along with detailed Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec)-Integral Field Units (IFU) spectroscopy. The team mapped the intricate structures of synchrotron radiation (light emitted when charged particles, like electrons, are sped up into high speeds in strong magnetic fields), argon-rich ejecta, and carbon monoxide (CO) molecules within Cas A. The images show very detailed and intricate patterns of shells, holes and filaments, highlighting how powerful JWST is.

Seong Hyun Park, a graduate student at Seoul National University in South Korea, performed modeling of the CO properties together with Rho.

The new observations highlight supernova remnants’ complex and competing molecular formation and destruction processes. While not directly leading to dust formation, CO molecules are critical indicators of the cooling and chemical processes that eventually lead to dust condensation.

While this study offers new perspectives, the debate continues regarding the extent to which supernovae contribute to dust formation in the early universe. Researchers will continue exploring these phenomena with future observations and research to unravel the mysteries of cosmic dust and molecular formation.

The findings are published this week in the Astrophysical Journal as a Letter.

Abstract
We present JWST NIRCam (F356W and F444W filters) and MIRI (F770W) images and NIRSpec Integral Field Unit (IFU) spectroscopy of the young Galactic supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) to probe the physical conditions for molecular CO formation and destruction in supernova ejecta. We obtained the data as part of a JWST survey of Cas A. The NIRCam and MIRI images map the spatial distributions of synchrotron radiation, Ar-rich ejecta, and CO on both large and small scales, revealing remarkably complex structures. The CO emission is stronger at the outer layers than the Ar ejecta, which indicates the re-formation of CO molecules behind the reverse shock. NIRSpec-IFU spectra (3–5.5 μm) were obtained toward two representative knots in the NE and S fields that show very different nucleosynthesis characteristics. Both regions are dominated by the bright fundamental rovibrational band of CO in the two R and P branches, with strong [Ar vi] and relatively weaker, variable strength ejecta lines of [Si ix], [Ca iv], [Ca v], and [Mg iv]. The NIRSpec-IFU data resolve individual ejecta knots and filaments spatially and in velocity space. The fundamental CO band in the JWST spectra reveals unique shapes of CO, showing a few tens of sinusoidal patterns of rovibrational lines with pseudocontinuum underneath, which is attributed to the high-velocity widths of CO lines. Our results with LTE modeling of CO emission indicate a temperature of ∼1080 K and provide unique insight into the correlations between dust, molecules, and highly ionized ejecta in supernovae and have strong ramifications for modeling dust formation that is led by CO cooling in the early Universe.

1. Introduction
The large amounts of dust seen in some high-z galaxies imply that dust formed in the early Universe. However, intermediate-mass stars, thought to produce most interstellar dust when on the asymptotic giant branch in present-day galaxies (Laporte et al. 2017), would not have evolved to the dust-producing stage in high-z galaxies. In contrast, core-collapse supernovae (ccSNe) from high-mass stars occur just several million years after their progenitors are born and have also been suggested to be molecular factories in the early Universe (Cherchneff & Lilly 2008). Molecules, e.g., carbon monoxide (CO), are the signature of the onset of dust formation since they are one of the ejecta's most powerful coolants (Cherchneff & Lilly 2008) at temperatures where dust can form.

However, whether SNe are a significant (if not dominant) source of dust in the early Universe has been and continues to be debated (e.g., Nozawa et al. 2006; Cherchneff & Dwek 2009). The dust masses observed in ccSNe within a few years after their explosions are less than 0.01 M_⊙, a value that is far too small to explain the amount of dust observed in the early Universe (Kotak et al. 2009.1; Gall et al. 2011; Tinyanont et al. 2019). In contrast, Herschel and Spitzer observations of a few young supernova remnants (SNRs), including SN 1987A (20 yr; Matsuura et al. 2011.1) and Cas A (∼350 yr), have dust masses of 0.1–1 M_⊙ (Rho et al. 2018b; Millard et al. 2021; Matsuura et al. 2015; Chawner et al. 2019.1; De Looze et al. 2017.1, and references therein), which is in agreement with dust formation models (Nozawa et al. 2003; Todini & Ferrara 2001; Sluder et al. 2018.1) that suggest that SNe could be major dust factories at high-z galaxies (Dwek & Cherchneff 2011.2).

The cause of discrepancies in the measured dust masses from early to later phases and the timescale of dust formation are under debate. Recently, Niculescu-Duvaz et al. (2022) and Shahbandeh et al. (2023) suggested that a dust mass grows with time and most dust forms at times >3 yr after the explosion, while Dwek et al. (2019.2) suggest that the dust forms early in optically thick clumps and only a fraction of its IR emission is detected due to high IR opacity.

Dust may undergo complete or partial destruction following its initial formation, which depends on shock velocity and grain size (Slavin et al. 2020), potentially altering the expected dust grain size distribution in the process. When the forward shock of a supernova (SN) accumulates sufficient pressure at the SN shell, a second shock (called a reverse shock) develops in the interior (Chevalier 1977; Borkowski & Shull 1990). The dust (or ejecta) destruction by the passage through the reverse shock of ccSNe depends on grain composition, grain size distribution, and the shock properties (Priestley et al. 2021.1; Nozawa et al. 2007; Kirchschlager et al. 2019.3, 2023.1). Because the dust formed in ccSNe includes sufficiently large grains (0.1–0.5 μm), a significant fraction of the grains can survive (10%–20% for silicate dust and 30%–50% for carbon dust; Slavin et al. 2020).

Cas A is one of the youngest (∼350 yr) and closest ejecta-dominated SNRs and has been observed across all wavelengths, including optical (Fesen et al. 2006.1), X-ray (Hwang et al. 2004), radio (DeLaney et al. 2014), and infrared (Isensee et al. 2010, 2012; Smith et al. 2007.1). The progenitor mass of Cas A is still uncertain; it has been suggested it was a Wolf–Rayet star with a mass of 15–25 M_⊙ (Fesen 2001.1; Young et al. 2006.2). Spectra of a light echo from the SN that produced Cas A showed a Type IIb SN from the collapse of the helium core of a red supergiant that had lost most of its hydrogen envelope (Krause et al. 2008.1). Koo et al. (2020.1) alternatively suggest a blue supergiant precursor with a thin hydrogen envelope or a yellow supergiant (the progenitor mass is probably &ly;15 M_⊙, depending on pre-SN mass loss).

Cas A is the best case study in the local Universe to understand dust formation in SN ejecta and shock-processing of freshly formed SN dust (De Looze et al. 2017.1). Spitzer infrared spectral mapping of Cas A confirmed that molecules and dust are present in the ejecta (Rho et al. 2008.2). Cas A also shows strong polarization fractions (∼20%) in the far-infrared, implying that the dust grains are large (Rho et al. 2023.2). CO was detected for the first time from the Palomar and Spitzer near-infrared (NIR) images (Rho et al. 2009.2, 2012.1). CO fundamental band features were detected in low-resolution AKARI spectra, showing that astrochemical processes and molecule formation continue to the stage of young SNRs (Rho et al. 2009.2, 2012.1).

Although CO molecules themselves are not on the immediate chemical path to dust formation (Sarangi & Cherchneff 2015.1), it is known that the detection of CO is an indication of molecular cooling and chemistry in the ejecta, leading to condensation of ejecta dust in later (from a few tens to a few hundred days after the explosion) epochs (Sarangi et al. 2018.2; Rho et al. 2018b, 2021.2). Although CO can form in the ejecta in early phases (∼100 days after SN explosion; Sarangi & Cherchneff 2013), the detection of later epoch CO has been associated with re-formation in the post-shock region (Biscaro & Cherchneff 2014.1), highlighting the complex and competing processes of molecular formation and destruction.

CO molecular lines have been observed in the late-time NIR spectroscopy of a number of SNe, e.g., two Type IIP SN1987A (Spyromilio et al. 1988) and SN 2017eaw (Rho et al. 2018.3a; Tinyanont et al. 2019) and a Type Ic SN2020oi (Rho et al. 2021.2). By comparing the production of molecules, ejecta, and dust at these early times to the molecular gas in Cas A, we can constrain both production and destruction of dust and molecules in SN explosions.

In this Letter, we present new observations of Cas A using JWST, focusing on NIRCam and MIRI imaging of the entire SNR and NIRSpec Integral Field Unit (IFU) observations of two selected filaments. JWST reveals that the CO-emitting regions mostly coincide spatially with the ejecta-dominated areas; however, the ratio between the CO and Ar ejecta varies across the SNR, and fine-scale differences in position and morphology exist between the CO emission and the ejecta. The NIRSpec spectra are dominated by complex CO bands and show a unique shape of the CO fundamental band.

2. Observations
We present JWST infrared observations of Cas A using NIRCam (Rieke et al. 2023.3), MIRI (Wright et al. 2023.4), and NIRSpec (Jakobsen et al. 2022.1). These observations were obtained as part of a Cycle 1 survey program on Cas A (Prog. ID of 1947), described in Milisavljevic et al. (2024). The NIRCam images were taken on 2022 December 5–6, using the F356W (3.140–3.980 μm) and F444W (3.880–4.986 μm) filters. The field of view (FOV) of NIRCam is 2\(\underset{\cdot}{\prime}\)2 × 4\(\underset{\cdot}{\prime}\)4 with the pixel scale of 0\(\underset{\cdot}{"}\)065. In contrast, Spitzer images at these wavelengths have a spatial resolution of 3" (Fazio et al. 2004.1). We required a 2 × 3 mosaic to cover the full extent of Cas A. The NIRCam data required 1.9 hr on source exposure time for F345W and F444W images.

MIRI imaging using the F770W filter was taken multiple times between 2022 August 4 and October 26. The MIRI imaging FOV is 1\(\underset{\cdot}{\prime}\)23 × 1\(\underset{\cdot}{\prime}\)88 with the pixel scale of 0\(\underset{\cdot}{"}\)11, requiring a 5 × 3 map to cover the SNR. The JWST mosaics were astrometrically aligned using the JWST Alignment Tool (Rest et al. 2023.5). The resulting aligned mosaics are shown in color in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1. JWST F356W (3.56 μm; top left), F444W (4.44 μm; top right) images, CO fundamental image (produced from F444W image after subtracting the synchrotron emission using F356W image; bottom left), and equivalent CO image using Spitzer data (bottom right). The JWST images show far more complexity. The CO emission is from the CO fundamental bands and overlaps spatially with the knotty ejecta structures. Faint, extended, diffuse F444W emission seen in projection toward the center, hinted at with the Spitzer data, is more noticeable. The image is centered on R.A. 23^h23^m26^s65 and decl. +58°49'14\(\mathop{"}\limits_{\cdot}\)98 (J2000) with an FOV of 6\(\mathop{\prime}\limits_{\cdot}\)4 × 6\(\mathop{\prime}\limits_{\cdot}\)4. The units in the color bar are in MJy sr⁻¹.

Figure 2. JWST three-color mosaicked images of synchrotron emission (F356W in blue), CO (synchrotron-subtracted F444W in green), and Ar ejecta (F770W in red). North is up, and east is to the left. The detailed structures of the three images are noticeably different from each other. The synchrotron emission (blue) shows smooth structures and is dominant outside the main shell.

Each NIRSpec-IFU position covers a region 3\(\mathop{"}\limits_{\cdot}\)7 × 4" in size with 0\(\mathop{"}\limits_{\cdot}\)1 pixels. Four IFU positions were observed for the program, as described in Milisavljevic et al. (2024). Here we focus on two positions that were observed, one on 2022 November 5 and the other on 2022 December 10. The position in the north (R.A. = 350\(\mathop{°}\limits_{\cdot}\)873, decl. = 58\(\mathop{°}\limits_{\cdot}\)842) targeted an ejecta knot, and the position in the south (R.A. = 350\(\mathop{°}\limits_{\cdot}\)875, decl. = 58\(\mathop{°}\limits_{\cdot}\)790) targeted a particularly bright region of CO emission. These positions (P1 and P3 in Milisavljevic et al. 2024) are shown in Figure 3. The other two regions are reported by I. De Looze (2024, in preparation) and Milisavljevic et al. (2024). We extracted the JWST NIRSpec-IFU spectra from each pixel, and the total ∼1368 spectra are from 36 × 38 detector pixels. However, note that the IFU had 53 × 55 image size after World Coordinate System rotation. The effective integration and total exposure times are 145 and 583 s for the N field and 218 and 875 s for the S field, respectively. More details of the JWST observations of Cas A are described in Milisavljevic et al. (2024).

Figure 3. Zoomed-in images of Figure 2 on the northern (top) and southern (bottom) shells. The NIRSpec-IFU FOVs are marked as black squares on the JWST three-color images. The arrows point to the filaments showing CO excess emission (in green, marked as A, B, and D) and Ar ejecta excess (in red, marked as C). The slit (box E, in cyan) is cut through the southern shell where a radial profile is obtained in Figure 7.

Citation J. Rho et al 2024
Shockingly Bright Warm Carbon Monoxide Molecular Features in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A Revealed by JWST
Astrophysical Journal Letters 969 L9 DOI 10.3847/2041-8213/ad5186

Copyright: © 2024 The authors.
Published by IOP Publishing. Open access.
Reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)

These technical details are way above my paygrade as a biologist, but I've included them for something for creationists to quote mine and misrepresent, if they ever find the courage to read this sort of information. Besides, trying to code some of the terms such as 14\(\mathop{"}\limits_{\cdot}\)98 and (R.A. = 350\(\mathop{°}\limits_{\cdot}\)875, decl. = 58\(\mathop{°}\limits_{\cdot}\)790) has been challenging, even with the help of ChatGPT 4o.

The thing creationists need worry about though, isn't all this technical stuff but the fact that Cas A exploded about 1,300 years before they think the universe existed, at which time the parent star had formed, turned on and used up its hydrogen before collapsing under its own gravity and forming heavier elements in a cataclysmic final burst that flung more light out into the universe than is normally produced by an entire galaxy. Information in the form of light from this event took 11,000 years to reach earth.

This could only have happened in a universe that was already tens of billions of years ole.

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