The Hubble team has released a stunning new image snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the spiral galaxy UGC 12295.
UGC 12295 resides approximately 192 million light-years away in the constellation of Pisces.
Otherwise known as LEDA 70237 or 2MASX J23002371+0137354, this galaxy is almost face-on when viewed from Earth, displaying a bright central bar and tightly wound spiral arms.
“UGC 12295 has two bright spiral arms that extend from a bar, which shines from the very center,” the Hubble astronomers said.
“Additional fainter arms branch off from these, studded with bright blue patches of star formation.”
“Despite appearing as an island of tranquility in this image, UGC 12295 played host to a catastrophically violent explosion — a supernova — that was first detected in 2015,” they added.
Dubbed SN 2015ah, this supernova event prompted two different teams to propose Hubble observations of UGC 12295 that would sift through the wreckage of this vast stellar explosion.
The images were taken in the ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).
Three filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
“Supernovae are the explosive deaths of massive stars, and are responsible for forging many of the elements found here on Earth,” the astronomers said.
“The first team used the WFC3 camera to examine the detritus left behind by SN 2015ah in order to better understand the evolution of matter in our Universe.”
“The second team also used the instrument to explore the aftermath of the 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.”
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