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NGC 2525

NGC 2525

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the quick, fading celebrity status of a supernova, the self-detonation of a star. The Hubble snapshots have been assembled into a telling movie of the titanic stellar blast disappearing into oblivion in the spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light-years away.

Hubble began observing SN 2018gv in February 2018, after the supernova was first detected by amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki a few weeks earlier in mid-January. Hubble astronomers were using the supernova as part of a program to precisely measure the expansion rate of the universe—a key value in understanding the physical underpinnings of the cosmos. The supernova serves as a milepost maker to measure galaxy distances, a fundamental value needed for measuring the expansion of space.

The supernova appears as a blazing star located on the galaxy's outer edge in the lower left portion of the frame. It initially outshines the brightest stars in the galaxy before fading out of sight. The time-lapse video consists of observations taken from February 2018 to February 2019.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    08:05:35.15
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -11:25:35.74
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Puppis
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    71 million light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is 2.42 arcmin across (about 50,000 light-years)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    The HST observations include those from program 15145 (A. Riess)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS; WFC3/IR
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    Feb 2018 to Feb 2019
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F350LP, F555W, F814W, F160W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 2525
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Spiral Galaxy
  • Release Date
    October 1, 2020
  • Science Release
    Hubble Watches Exploding Star Fade into Oblivion
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI/JHU) and the SH0ES team Acknowledgment: M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)

Downloads

  • 1865 × 2000
    png (6.23 MB)
  • Full Res, 3657 × 3920
    png (25.7 MB)
  • Full Res, 3657 × 3920
    tif (29.83 MB)
NGC 2525
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 UVIS and IR instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F555W Orange: F814W Red: F160W Luminance: F350LP

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Supernova in NGC 2525

Supernova in NGC 2525

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the quick, fading celebrity status of a supernova, the self-detonation of a star. The Hubble snapshots have been assembled into a telling movie of the titanic stellar blast disappearing into oblivion in the spiral galaxy...

NGC 2525 with compass and scale

Compass Image for NGC 2525

Supernova in NGC 2525

Time-Lapse of Fading Supernova in NGC 2525

This video shows a unique time-lapse of supernova 2018gv in galaxy NGC 2525, compressing a nearly one-year duration into a few seconds. The supernova is captured by Hubble in exquisite detail within this galaxy in the lower left portion of the frame. It appears as a very bright...

Supernova in NGC 2525 with brightness graph

Time-Lapse of Fading Supernova in NGC 2525 (annotated)

This video shows a unique time-lapse of supernova 2018gv in galaxy NGC 2525, compressing a nearly one-year duration into a few seconds. The supernova is captured by Hubble in exquisite detail within this galaxy in the lower left portion of the frame. It appears as a very bright...

Zoom to Fading Supernova in NGC 2525

Zoom to Fading Supernova in NGC 2525

This video zooms into the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light-years away in the southern constellation Puppis. Roughly half the diameter of our Milky Way, it was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1791 as a "spiral nebula." The sharpness of...

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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