These Hubble Space Telescope images pinpoint three distant supernovae, which exploded and died billions of years ago. Scientists are using these faraway light sources to estimate if the universe was expanding at a faster rate long ago and is now slowing down.
Images of SN 1997cj are in the left hand column; SN 1997ce, in the middle; and SN 1997ck, on the right. All images were taken by the Hubble telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The top row of images are wider views of the supernovae. The supernovae were discovered in April 1997 in a ground-based survey at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
Once the supernovae were discovered, the Hubble telescope was used to distinguish the supernovae from the light of their host galaxies. A series of Hubble telescope images were taken in May and June 1997 as the supernovae faded. Six Hubble telescope observations spanning five weeks were taken for each supernova. This time series enabled scientists to measure the brightness and create a light curve. Scientists then used the light curve to make an accurate estimate of the distances to the supernovae. Scientists combined the estimated distance with the measured velocity of the supernova's host galaxy to determine the expansion rate of the universe in the past (5 to 7 billion years ago) and compare it with the current rate.
These supernovae belong to a class called Type Ia, which are considered reliable distance indicators. Looking at great distances also means looking back in time because of the finite velocity of light. SN 1997ck exploded when the universe was half its present age. It is the most distant supernova ever discovered (at a redshift of 0.97), erupting 7.7 billion years ago. The two other supernovae exploded about 5 billion years ago. SN 1997ce has a redshift of 0.44; SN 1997cj, 0.50. SN 1997ck is in the constellation Hercules, SN 1997ce is in Lynx, just north of Gemini; and SN 1997cj is in Ursa Major, near the Hubble Deep Field.
Credits
P. Garnavich (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and the High-z Supernova Search Team and NASA| About The Object | |
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| Object Name | SN 1997cj, SN 1997ce, SN 1997ck |
| About The Object | |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
