Watch: Hubble telescope snaps a spiral galaxy 100M light-years away
What's the story
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a breathtaking image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1309, located some 100 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. The image shows off the bluish stars, dark brown gas clouds, and pearly-white core of NGC 1309. It also features hundreds of distant background galaxies, each one represented by a smudge or streak in this detailed cosmic panorama.
Supernova significance
Two supernovae events have occurred in NGC 1309
NGC 1309 is of great scientific interest due to two supernovae, SN 2002fk and SN 2012Z. The former was a classic Type Ia supernova, caused by the explosion of a white dwarf star's stripped-down core. The latter was more unusual, classified as a Type Iax supernova. Although its spectrum resembled that of a Type Ia supernova, it wasn't as bright as expected.
Observation history
Hubble's repeated observations
Hubble has observed NGC 1309 multiple times, with previous images released in 2006 and 2014. These observations have been crucial for astronomers to study the galaxy's unique supernova events. Notably, Hubble's long-term observations of NGC 1309 were the first to reveal a star system that later produced an unusual explosion of a white dwarf supernova.