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Compass and Scale Image for SN Refsdal and MACS J1149.6+2223
The powerful gravity of a massive cluster of galaxies in this Hubble Space Telescope image is producing multiple images of a single distant supernova behind it.
The foreground cluster is acting like a giant cosmic lens, bending and magnifying light from the exploding star in an effect called gravitational lensing.
The enlarged inset view reveals four images of the supernova, spotted on Nov. 11, 2014, arranged around a giant elliptical galaxy within the cluster. The light from the supernova passes so closely to the galaxy's dense core that several light paths are redirected and focused toward Earth. The result is that astronomers see four images that form a cross-shaped pattern called an Einstein Cross. The blue streaks wrapping around the galaxy are the stretched images of the supernova's host spiral galaxy, which has been distorted by the warping of space.
Computer models of the cluster predict that another image of the stellar blast will appear within five years. The red circle marks the possible location of the next supernova image. Astronomers may have missed an earlier appearance of the supernova in 1995, as marked by the blue circle. These multiple appearances of the exploding star are due to the various paths its light is taking through the maze of clumpy dark matter in the galactic grouping. Each image takes a different route through the cluster and arrives at a different time, due, in part, to differences in the length of the pathways the light follows to reach Earth.
The elliptical galaxy and its galaxy cluster, MACS J1149.6+2223, are 5 billion light-years away from Earth. The supernova, dubbed Supernova Refsdal, is 9.3 billion light-years away.
This image combines data from three months' worth of observations, taken in visible light by the Advanced Camera for Surveys and in near-infrared light by the Wide Field Camera 3.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.11h 49m 35.08s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.22° 24' 10.94"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Leo
- DistanceDistanceThe 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.9.3 billion light-years or 2.9 billion parsecs (supernova); 5 billion light-years or 1.5 billion parsecs (cluster)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData 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.This image is created from data from the following HST proposals: 13459 T. Treu (UCLA) et al. and the GLASS team, 13504 J. Lotz (STScI) et al. and the Frontier Fields team, 13790 S. Rodney (JHU) et al. and the FrontierSN team, and 14041 P. Kelly (UCLA) et al. and the Refsdal team. The science team includes: P. Kelly (UC Berkeley), S. Rodney (JHU), T. Treu (UCLA), R. Foley (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), G. Brammer (STScI), K. Schmidt (UC Santa Barbara), A. Zitrin (Caltech), A. Sonnenfeld (UCLA), L.-G. Strolger (Western Kentucky University/STScI), O. Graur (New York University/American Museum of Natural History), A. Filippenko (UC Berkeley), S. Jha (Rutgers University), A. Riess (JHU/STScI), M. Bradac (UC Davis), B. Weiner (Steward Observatory/UA), D. Scolnic (University of Chicago), M. Malkan (UCLA), A. von der Linden (Dark Cosmology Centre, Copenhagen/KIPAC, Stanford), M. Trenti (University of Melbourne), J. Hjorth (Dark Cosmology Centre, Copenhagen), R. Gavazzi (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris), A. Fontana (INAF-OAR), J. Merten (Caltech), C. McCully and T. Jones (UC Santa Barbara), M. Postman (STScI), A. Dressler (Carnegie Observatories), B. Patel (Rutgers University), S. B. Cenko (NASA/GSFC), M. Graham (UC Berkeley), and B. Tucker (UC Berkeley/Australia National University). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/IR
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.November 3, 2014 - December 14, 2014
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.ACS/WFC: F606W and F814W WFC3/IR: F105W, F125W, F140W, and F160W
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.SN Refsdal, SN HFF14Ref (supernova), MACS J1149.6+2223 (cluster)
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Multiply Imaged, Gravitationally Lensed Supernova and Lensing Galaxy Cluster
- Release DateMarch 5, 2015
- Science ReleaseHubble Sees Supernova Split into Four Images by Cosmic Lens
- Credit
These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the ACS and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad 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: Blue: F606W+F814W Green: F105W+F125W Red: F140W+F160W
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
