The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an impressive photo of a well-known galaxy called Wisea J070815.11+210422.3.
SN 2022AJN looks like a blue point in the center of this Hubble image, brightening the Wisea J070815.11+210422.3 blurred body. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / RJ Foley, UC Santa Cruz.
Wisea J070815.11+210422.3 is situated approximately 600 million light years away in the Gemini constellation.
This image was captured about two months following the supernova event in the galaxy, known as SN 2022AJN.
“Up until the announcement made in November 2022, SN 2022AJN had not been the focus of published research,” stated Hubble astronomers.
“Hubble observed this supernova for a reason. SN 2022AJN is classified as a Type IA supernova, resulting from the explosive death of a star’s core.”
Type IA Supernovae are valuable to astronomers for determining distances to distant galaxies.
“This is feasible because Type IA supernovae exhibit consistent brightness, emitting the same amount of light regardless of their distance from Earth,” they explained.
“Thus, by comparing observed brightness to expected brightness, the distance to the supernova and its host galaxy can be calculated.”
“Despite its apparent simplicity, this measurement method is complicated by intergalactic dust.”
“A supernova appearing red when it should be blue can be due to dust between galaxies affecting its appearance.”
“To address this complication, Hubble is being employed to study a total of 100 Type IA supernovae across seven wavelength bands, ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared.”
The color image of Wisea J070815.11+210422.3 was produced from various exposures collected in the infrared part of the spectrum using Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).
Four filters were utilized to sample different infrared wavelengths, with each filter assigned a different hue to represent a single color image.
“This image blends data from four infrared wavelengths,” explained scientists.
“Infrared light passes through dust more effectively than visible or ultraviolet light.”
“By comparing supernova brightness across different wavelengths, researchers can mitigate the impact of dust and distance, enhancing measurements of distant galaxies and the universe’s expansion.”
Source: www.sci.news
