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Spiral Galaxy NGC 1187: Location of Supernova 2007Y | ESO

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1187: Location of Supernova 2007Y | ESO


This picture taken with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) shows the galaxy NGC 1187. This impressive spiral lies about 60 million light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus (The River). NGC 1187 has hosted two supernova explosions during the last thirty years, the latest one in 2007. Type Ib supernova 2007Y is still faintly visible in this picture and is marked with a circle. 

A supernova is the biggest explosion that humans have ever seen. Each blast is the extremely bright, super-powerful explosion of a star. Type Ib supernovae are formed when a massive star collapses under its own gravity. This star must have had its outer envelope of hydrogen stripped away, because we observe no hydrogen in the spectra of these objects. However, we do observe the second ‘onion layer’ of helium.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: August 1, 2012


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