Hubble is aiming for an explosive galaxy

When massive stars die at the end of their short lives, they illuminate the cosmos with bright, explosive bursts of light and materials called supernovae. A supernova event is incredibly energetic and intensely bright, so much so that it forms what looks like a particularly bright new star that slowly disappears over time.

These twinkling stars glow incredibly bright when they first form, and can be spotted from far away with telescopes such as the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The subject of this image, a spiral galaxy called NGC 4051 – located about 45 million light-years from Earth – has hosted many supernovae in recent years. The first was found in 1983 (SN 1983I), the second in 2003 (SN 2003ie) and the most recent in 2010 (SN 2010br). These explosive events were seen scattered in the center and spiral arms of the NGC 4051.

SN 1983I and SN 2010br were both classified as Ic type supernovae. This type of supernova is produced by the collapse of the nucleus of a massive star that has lost its outer layer of hydrogen and helium, either through winds or by mass transfer to an associated star. For this reason, type Ic supernovae – and type Ib supernovae – are sometimes referred to as purified nucleus collapse supernovae.

NGC 4501 is located in the southern part of a group of galaxies called the Big Dipper I group. This group is particularly rich in spirals such as NGC 4051 and is a subset of the largest supercluster of the Virgin, which houses also the Milky Way.

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