The inset panel is a pair of Hubble Space Telescope images of the spiral galaxy NGC 1309 that were taken before and after the appearance of Supernova 2012Z, in the outskirts of the galaxy. The white X-shaped feature at the top of the image of the galaxy marks the location of the supernova.
The inset panel from 2013 shows the supernova; archival Hubble data from 2005 and 2006 show the progenitor system for the supernova, thought to be a binary system containing a helium star transferring material to a white dwarf that exploded.
The stellar blast is a member of a unique class of supernova called Type Iax. These supernovae are less energetic, and hence fainter, on average, than their well-known cousins, Type Ia supernovae, which also originate from exploding white dwarfs in binary systems.
Credits
NASA, ESA, C. McCully and S. Jha (Rutgers University), R. Foley (University of Illinois), and Z. Levay (STScI);Acknowledgment: Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and A. Riess (JHU/STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Supernova 2012Z, NGC 1309 |
| Object Description | Supernova in Spiral Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 03h 22m 05s.2880 |
| Dec. Position | -15° 23' 49".34 |
| Constellation | Eridanus |
| Distance | 100 million light-years (30 Megaparsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Hubble data for this release were obtained from the following proposals: , , , and 12880: A. Riess (JHU/STScI) et al. : K. Noll (NASA/GSFC) et al. : S. Jha (Rutgers University) et al. The science team comprises: C. McCully and S. Jha (Rutgers University), R. Foley (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), L. Bildsten (University of California, Santa Barbara/ Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics) W.-f. Fong and R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian/CfA), G. Marion (University of Texas, Austin and Harvard-Smithsonian/CfA), A. Riess (JHU/STScI) and M. Stritzinger (Aarhus University, Denmark). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | 2005 - 2006 and 2013 |
| Filters | NGC 1309 and 2005-2006 inset image: ACS/WFC: F435W (B) F555W (V), and F814W (I) 2013 inset image: WFC3/UVIS: F555W (V); F625W (R), and F814W (I) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS/WFC and WFC3/UVIS instruments. Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image as follows: Image of NGC 1309 and 2005-2006 inset image: Blue: F435W (B) Green: F555W (V) Red: F814W (I) 2013 inset image: Blue: F555W (V) Green: F625W (R) Red: F814W (I) |
| 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. |
