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)| 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) |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
