Scientists identify origin of the 'BOAT' — the brightest cosmic blast of all time

A pinkish spherical blast is seen with a yellow laser-like streak strewn diagonally through the center. In the background, is it patchy and green.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists have finally solved the mysterious origins of the "BOAT," possibly the biggest cosmic explosion since the Big Bang.

The brightest gamma-ray burst of all time (hence the acronym the Brightest Of All Time), aka the BOAT, seems to have been launched by a supernova explosion that accompanied the death and collapse of a massive star located around 2.4 million light-years away. This is an event that probably also led to the birth of a black hole.

By solving this cosmic mystery, however, the team of astrophysicists has opened up yet another celestial puzzle. That's because traces of heavy elements like gold and platinum, traces one would expect to linger around this kind of supernova, are nowhere to be found.