Circinus Galaxy before and after SN 1996cr appeared

These two optical images from the Anglo-Australian Telescope in Australia show the Circinus galaxy before (February 1995) and after (March 1996) the supernova explosion of SN 1996cr was visible. The field of view of the Chandra/Hubble Space Telescope composite is shown with a rectangle, along with the position of SN 1996cr.