Astronomers capture rare and bright supernova explosion.
Astronomers have discovered a previously unknown supernova explosion more than 4 billion light-years away using gravitational lensing, which acts as a cosmic magnifying glass. The discovery was made using the Zwicky Transient Facility, a robotic camera attached to the Samuel Oschin telescope. The supernova, dubbed SN Zwicky, was confirmed to be a product of gravitational lensing using adaptive optics instruments at three other telescopes. Co-author Ariel Goobar described the find as "a significant step forward in our quest to understand the fundamental forces shaping our universe."