00:04Cassiopeia A is one of the most studied areas of space due in no small part to both its proximity
00:09and history. It was first discovered in the late 17th century and resides only 11,000 light years
00:15away, quite close in cosmic terms. But now we're getting a look at it like never before,
00:19as the James Webb Space Telescope has zeroed in on it with its near-infrared lens. Cassiopeia A
00:24is actually the remnants of a supernova star, and these new observations are letting astronomers
00:29watch the evolution of such an event in real time. And with the James Webb Telescope, they have even
00:34found another structure just outside of the supernova proper. They're calling this smaller
00:38mirrored version of the remnant Baby Cass A, since it very much looks like a smaller version of the
00:43star explosion. However, it's not actually part of the supernova at all. It's simply a cloud of dust
00:48around 170 light years behind Cassiopeia A, with the light from the supernova simply reflecting off
00:54of it, a phenomenon called light echo. This new info, coupled with the telescope's mid-infrared
00:59wavelength observations made earlier this year are giving astronomers new insights into supernova
01:04evolution.
