Hubble image archive
Wispy Remains of Supernova Explosion Hide Possible Survivor
This image, taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, shows the supernova remnant SNR 0509-68.7, also known as N103B. It is located 160,000 light-years from Earth in a neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. N103B resulted from a Type Ia supernova, whose cause remai...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2017
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2017-16-4008-image
This image, taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, shows the supernova remnant SNR 0509-68.7, also known as N103B. It is located 160,000 light-years from Earth in a neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. N103B resulted from a Type Ia supernova, whose cause remains a mystery. One possibility would leave behind a stellar survivor, and astronomers have identified a possible candidate.
The actual supernova remnant is the irregular shaped dust cloud, at the upper center of the image. The gas in the lower half of the image and the dense concentration of stars in the lower left are the outskirts of the star cluster NGC 1850.
The Hubble image combines visible and near-infrared light taken by the Wide Field Camera 3 in June 2014.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and Y.-H. Chu (Academia Sinica, Taipei)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | SNR 0509-68.7, LMC N103B |
| Object Description | Supernova remnant |
| Distance | 160,000 light-years away |
| About The Data | |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | June 2014 |
| Filters | F475W B, F555W V, F814W I, and F656N Hα |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | Blue: F475W B Green: F555W V Red: F814W I + F656N Hα |
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov