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Astronomers using the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured this vivid image of a spiral galaxy called LEDA 42975.
This Hubble image shows the starburst spiral galaxy LEDA 42975. The color image was taken from separate exposures taken in the visible and near infrared regions of the spectrum with the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). It is based on data obtained through four filters. Color results from assigning different tints to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / O. Graur / L. Shatz.
LEDA 42975 is located approximately 48 million light years away in the constellation Virgo.
Also called IRAS 12425-0011 and UGC 7926, the galaxy is experiencing a particularly intense star formation episode.
“LEDA 42975’s star-forming explosion results in an unusual form of extreme galactic weather known as oversight – a gigantic transfer of gas from the galaxy’s bright central core to space,” astronomers explained. Hubble.
“This supervent is the result of driving winds from massive short-lived stars formed during the LEDA 42975 star explosion as well as spectacularly energetic supernova explosions.”
“Two such supernova explosions have been observed in LEDA 42975 over the past decade, one in 2014 and the other in 2019,” the researchers added.
“The star that led to the 2019 supernova was recently determined to be 19 times more massive than our Sun!
“At peak, supernovae are often the brightest light sources in their galaxies, shining so brightly that they can be seen clearly across the Universe,” they said.
“The 2014 supernova in LEDA 42975 is still active in this image, but more than 900 days after its peak, the supernova has faded from its former glory and looks like one more star in this busy galaxy.”
“Although the torrent of superheated gas emanating from LEDA 42975 is truly large – spanning tens of thousands of light years – it is invisible in this image.”
“The supervent’s extremely high temperature makes it stand out as a plume of light in x-ray or radio observations, but it does not appear at the visible wavelengths imaged by Hubble.”
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