One single atom of a certain isotope of hafnium found on Earth would prove that a supernova once exploded near our solar system. The problem is how to find such an atom – among billions of others.

The early stages of a supernova explosion are revelatory in what they can reveal about stars that go boom. But while catching them immediately after they detonate has proven largely elusive, ...

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a stellar explosion from a time when the cosmos was still in its infancy, catching the light of a supernova that detonated less than a billion years after ...