A Supernova in the Whirlpool
Credit & Copyright: R. Kirshner (CfA),
NASA
Explanation:
In 1994, a new star in a distant galaxy
was seen by
amateur
astronomers, who alerted the world to their discovery of a
supernova.
Near the nucleus of
spiral galaxy M51,
popularly known as the Whirlpool,
this supernova (1994I) is identified as the bright spot indicated
by the arrow in the lower left of
this Hubble Space Telescope image.
Supernovae are violent death explosions of stars
that eject
radioactive debri clouds.
They are often discovered by
amateur observers dedicated to systematic
searches of the sky and are of
intense interest to astronomers
who hope to learn what kind of stars generate these explosions
and what chemical elements are produced and mixed into space.
Distances to these
these intrinsically bright events can also be determined, providing
crucial yardsticks for measuring
the Scale of the Universe.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
