Despite appearing as an island of tranquillity in this image, UGC
12295 played host to a catastrophically violent explosion — a supernova —
that was first detected in 2015. This supernova prompted two different
teams of astronomers to propose Hubble observations of UGC 12295 that
would sift through the wreckage of this vast stellar explosion.
Supernovae
are the explosive deaths of massive stars, and are responsible for
forging many of the elements found here on Earth. The first team of
astronomers used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3
(WFC3) to examine the detritus left behind by the supernova in order to
better understand the evolution of matter in our Universe.
The second team of astronomers also used WFC3 to explore the
aftermath of UGC 12295’s supernova, but their investigation focused on
returning to the sites of some of the best-studied nearby supernovae.
Hubble’s keen vision can reveal lingering traces of these energetic
events, shedding light on the nature of the systems that host
supernovae.
Friday, July 28, 2023
Galactic island of tranquillity
A broad spiral galaxy seen directly
face-on. It has two bright spiral arms that extend from a bar, which
shines from the very centre. Additional fainter arms branch off from
these, studded with bright blue patches of star formation. Small,
distant galaxies are dotted around it, on a dark background. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Filippenko, J. Lyman
The tranquil spiral galaxy
UGC 12295 basks leisurely in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space
Telescope. This galaxy lies around 192 million light-years away in the
constellation Pisces, and is almost face-on when viewed from Earth,
displaying a bright central bar and tightly wound spiral arms.
Source: ESA/Hubble/potw
