NGC 634: A Picturesque Spiral with an Explosive Secret

Spiral galaxy NGC 634 lies approximately 250 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Triangulum. This gorgeous and detailed portrait was taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. In it there is no hint of the bright Type Ia supernova called SN2008a that drew astronomers’ attention to the galaxy in 2008. At the time, the explosive demise of the white dwarf star that caused the supernova rivaled the brilliance of the entire galaxy.