Follow-up of SN 2025wny I: Space-based Observations of the First Multiply-imaged Superluminous Supernova

arXiv:2608.28413 · astro-ph.CO · Submitted 2026-08-28 · Read on arXiv

astro-ph.CO

Submitted: 2026-08-28

Updated: 2026-08-28

Comments: Submitted to the ApJ Focus Issue on SN 2025wny (Paper I)

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: We present space-based follow-up observations of the superluminous Type I supernova (SLSN-I) SN 2025wny at redshift z SN=2.0151, gravitationally lensed by two galaxies at redshifts z G1=0.3755 and z

Abstract

We present space-based follow-up observations of the superluminous Type I supernova (SLSN-I) SN 2025wny at redshift z SN=2.0151, gravitationally lensed by two galaxies at redshifts z G1=0.3755 and z G2=0.3766 into five resolved images. SN 2025wny is the first strongly lensed SLSN discovered and the first galaxy-scale lensed supernova for which both photometric and spectroscopic time-delay measurements are feasible. As such, it opens a new observational window for precision cosmology and the study of stellar explosions near the epoch of peak cosmic star formation. Our follow-up observations comprise two epochs of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging, together with near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). From these data, we measure precise astrometry and multi-band photometry for the five resolved supernova images, the host galaxy, and the two deflecting galaxies. HST provides accurate relative image positions and rest-frame ultraviolet photometry, while JWST delivers complementary near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy probing the rest-frame optical at high signal-to-noise ratio. Together they yield a detailed characterization of both the lensing configuration and the supernova spectral energy distribution over a broad wavelength range. The data presented here provide the observational foundation for the accompanying analyses of the supernova properties, lens modeling, and time-delay cosmography, including the astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic information required to measure H 0.

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