Supernovae, the explosive deaths of stars, are some of the universe’s biggest bursts of energy and light. When they erupt, one supernova can shine even brighter than an entire galaxy.

It’s a fitting reason for NGC 6946, located 22 million light-years away from Earth, to be nicknamed the Fireworks Galaxy. In the past century, nearly a dozen supernovae have been observed flashing in the arms of this galaxy.

This includes Supernova 2004et and Supernova 2017eaw, which researchers are now studying with the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). 
Their findings have been surprising—MIRI detected large amounts of dust within the ejecta of each of these objects. The mass found by researchers supports the theory that supernovae played a key role in supplying dust to the early universe.