Astronomers have observed the most distant supernova ever seen, dating back 13 billion years, just 730 million years after the Big Bang, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The explosion, accompanied by a gamma-ray burst (GRB 250314A), marks the death of a massive star and possibly the birth of a stellar-mass black hole.

Initial detection came from the SVOM satellite and NASA’s Swift Observatory, followed by optical confirmation from ground-based telescopes, with JWST later capturing the supernova’s light and its host galaxy.

Despite its extreme distance, the supernova’s spectrum closely resembles that of modern-day massive star explosions, though differences are expected due to the early universe’s lower abundance of heavy elements, Space.com has reported.

This discovery not only sets a new distance record but also demonstrates JWST’s ability to study individual stars and galaxies when the universe was only 5% of its current age.