Astronomers Find a Supernova's Progenitor Star in Hubble Images
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 3938 shows the location of supernova 2017ein, in a spiral arm near the bright core. The exploded star is a Type Ic supernova, thought to detonate after its massive star has shed or been stripped of its outer layers of hydrogen and helium.
Progenitor stars to Type Ic supernovas have been hard to find. But astronomers sifting through Hubble archival images may have uncovered the star that detonated as supernova 2017ein. The location of the candidate progenitor star is shown in the pullout box at bottom left, taken in 2007. The bright object in the box at bottom right is a close-up image of the supernova, taken by Hubble in 2017, shortly after the stellar blast.
NGC 3938 resides 65 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The Hubble image of NGC 3938 was taken in 2007.
Credits
NASA, ESA, S. Van Dyk (Caltech), and W. Li (University of California)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | SN 2017ein in NGC 3938 |
| Object Description | Progenitor of Type Ic supernova |
| R.A. Position | 11:52:53.19 |
| Dec. Position | +44:07:25.63 |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Distance | NGC 3938 is located 65 million light-years away from Earth. |
| Dimensions | Image is about 2.5 arcmin across (31,000 light-years). |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST observations include those from programs (W. Li), (S. Van Dyk) |
| Instrument | WFPC2, WFC3 |
| Exposure Dates | April 2007 and June 2017 |
| Filters | WFPC2: F814W, F555W, WFC3: F438W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFPC2 and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. 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: Cyan: F555W Orange: F814W |
| 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. |
