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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA, and
S. Rodney
(JHU) and the FrontierSN team;
T. Treu
(UCLA),
P. Kelly (UC Berkeley), and the GLASS team;
J. Lotz (STScI) and the
Frontier Fields team;
M. Postman
(STScI) and the
CLASH team; and
Z. Levay
(STScI)
Explanation:
It's back.
Never before has an observed supernova been predicted.
The unique astronomical event
occurred in the field of galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223.
Most bright spots in the
featured image are galaxies
in this cluster.
The actual supernova, dubbed
Supernova Refsdal,
occurred just once far across the universe and well behind this massive galaxy cluster.
Gravity caused the cluster to act as a massive
gravitational
lens,
splitting the image of Supernova Refsdal into
multiple
bright images.
One of these images arrived at Earth about ten years ago, likely in the upper red
circle, and was missed.
Four more bright images
peaked in April in the lowest red circle, spread around a massive galaxy in the cluster
as the first
Einstein Cross supernova.
But there was more.
Analyses revealed
that a sixth bright
supernova image was likely still on its way to Earth and likely to arrive within
the next year.
Earlier this month -- right on schedule -- this sixth bright image was
recovered,
in the middle red circle, as predicted.
Studying image sequences like this help humanity to understand how matter is distributed
in
galaxies and clusters, how
fast the universe
expands,
and how massive
stars explode.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: supernova - gravitational lens
Publications with words: supernova - gravitational lens
See also:
- APOD: 2023 October 11 Á NGC 1097: Spiral Galaxy with Supernova
- Galaxy Cluster Abell 370 and Beyond
- Webb's First Deep Field
- APOD: 2023 July 9 Á Doomed Star Eta Carinae
- APOD: 2023 May 22 Á Supernova Discovered in Nearby Spiral Galaxy M101
- APOD: 2023 January 18 Á MACS0647: Gravitational Lensing of the Early Universe by Webb
- Supernova Cannon Expels Pulsar J0002