Hubble image archive
Hubble Snags One of the Farthest Exploding Stars
These three images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal the emergence of an exploding star, called a supernova.Nicknamed SN Primo, the exploding star belongs to a special class called Type Ia supernovae, which are distance markers used for studying dark energy and the ex...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2012
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2012-02-2950-image
These three images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal the emergence of an exploding star, called a supernova.
Nicknamed SN Primo, the exploding star belongs to a special class called Type Ia supernovae, which are distance markers used for studying dark energy and the expansion rate of the universe. Type Ia supernovae most likely arise when white dwarf stars – the burned-out cores of normal stars – siphon too much material from their companion stars and explode.
The top image shows part of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the region where astronomers were looking for a supernova blast. The white box pinpoints the area where the supernova is later seen. The image combines observations taken in visible and near-infrared light with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field Camera 3.
The image at bottom left, taken by the Wide Field Camera 3, is a close-up of the field without the supernova.
A new bright object, identified as the supernova, appears in the Wide Field Camera 3 image at bottom right.
The exploding star was discovered as part of a search for distant Type Ia supernovae called the CANDELS+CLASH Supernova Project.
The supernova team's search technique involved taking multiple near-infrared images over several months, looking for a supernova's faint glow. Once the team spotted the stellar blast in October 2010, they used WFC3's spectrometer to verify SN Primo's distance and to decode its light, finding the unique signature of a Type Ia supernova. The team then re- imaged SN Primo periodically for several months, measuring the slow dimming of its light.
Credits
NASA, ESA, A. Riess (Space Telescope Science Institute and The Johns Hopkins University), and S. Rodney (The Johns Hopkins University)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Hubble Ultra Deep Field, HUDF, and SN Primo |
| Object Description | Deep survey (color image) and Type Ia Supernova (greyscale images) |
| R.A. Position | 03h 32m 38.01s |
| Dec. Position | -27° 46' 39.08" |
| Constellation | Fornax |
| Distance | Redshift: z=1.55 |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | These images were created from Hubble data from proposals (PI: S. Faber, University of California, Santa Cruz) and (PI: A. Riess (STScI/JHU). The lead author on the paper is S. Rodney (JHU). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | Data used in these images were taken in 2010 and 2011. |
| Filters | ACS/WFC: F435W (B), F606W (V), F775W (i), and F850LPW (z); WFC3/IR: F105W (Y), F125W (J), and F160W (H) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 and ACS instruments on HST. Several filters were used to sample broad 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: F435W (B) + F606W (V) Green: F775W (i) + F850LPW (z) Red: F105W (Y) + F125W (J) + F160W (H) |
More Images From This Period
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov