Hubble image archive
SN 2020fqv in NGC 4568
Astronomers recently witnessed supernova SN 2020fqv explode inside the interacting Butterfly galaxies, located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Researchers quickly trained NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the aftermath. Along with other space- and gro...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2021
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2021-007-01ffn7msbmta4gppnqz0y6cx8z
Astronomers recently witnessed supernova SN 2020fqv explode inside the interacting Butterfly galaxies, located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Researchers quickly trained NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the aftermath. Along with other space- and ground-based telescopes, Hubble delivered a ringside seat to the first moments of the ill-fated star's demise, giving a comprehensive view of a supernova in the very earliest stage of exploding. Hubble probed the material very close to the supernova that was ejected by the star in the last year of its life. These observations allowed researchers to understand what was happening to the star just before it died, and may provide astronomers with an early warning system for other stars on the brink of death.
Credits
Author
NASA, ESA, Ryan Foley (UC Santa Cruz)
Image Processing
Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 4567 (top) and NGC 4568 (bottom) |
| Object Description | Supernova in a distant galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 12:36:34 |
| Dec. Position | 11:14:17 |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Distance | 59 million light-years |
| Dimensions | Image is 5.4 arcmin across (about 93,000 light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST observations include those from program (G. Illingworth) |
| Instrument | WFPC2 |
| Exposure Dates | Feb 1995 |
| Filters | F606W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate archival exposures acquired by the WFPC2 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope and more recent ground-based optical data from the Lick Observatory. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: LCO/BGreen: LCO/VOrange: LCO/rRed: LCO/iLuminosity: HST/F606W |
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Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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