Spiral Galaxy NGC 3982 Before Supernova
Explanation:
What do stars look like just before they explode?
To find out,
astronomers
are taking detailed images of nearby galaxies now,
before any supernova is visible.
Hopefully, a star in one of the hundreds of
high resolution galaxy images
will explode in the coming years.
If so, archival images like that taken above by the
Hubble Space Telescope
can be inspected to find what the star looked like originally.
This information is likely important for better understanding
of how and why supernovas occur, as well as why some
supernovas appear brighter than others.
Pictured above, beautiful
spiral galaxy NGC 3982 displays numerous
spiral arms filled with bright stars,
blue star clusters, and dark
dust lanes.
NGC 3982, which spans about 30,000 light years, lies about 60 million
light years from
Earth and can be seen with a small telescope toward the
constellation of
Ursa Major.
Public Lecture:
APOD Editor to speak in New York
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.
