Bright Supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)

This colour photo of the bright supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was obtained with a 6 x 6 camera mounted piggy-back on a large telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory, on February 25 at UT 01:00, two days after the supernova exploded. On this date, the supernova had reached visual magnitude 4.5. It is well visible, left of the centre and above the LMC main body as the lower right (round) of the two bright objects. The other object, which is extended and more diffuse, is the Tarantula Nebula. The distance to the LMC is about 180.000 light years and it is a satellite galaxy to our own, the Milky Way.