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Supernova Encore in MACS J0138 (NIRCam Image)

A two-panel image. At left, dozens of small galaxies are scattered on the black background of space. A curved and distorted galaxy image on the right side is highlighted with a white box. Lines extend from the box’s corners to the right panel, which shows an enlarged view of the curved galaxy image. Two faint points of light are circled.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a multiply imaged supernova in a distant galaxy designated MRG-M0138. Two images of the supernova (circled) are seen in the Webb NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image above, but an additional supernova image is expected to become visible around 2035. In this image blue represents light at 1.15 and 1.5 microns (F115W+F150), green is 2.0 and 2.77 microns (F200W+277W), and red is 3.56 and 4.44 microns (F356W + F444W).

Read the story.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    01:38:02.16
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -21:55:22.41
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Cetus
  • 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.
    About 10 billion light-years (distance to galaxy hosting the supernova at redshift z=2)

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.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 6549 (J. Pierel). Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    05 December 2023
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F115W, F150W, F200W, F277W, F356W, F444W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    MACSJ0138, Supernova Encore
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Lensed galaxy/supernova
  • Release Date
    December 21, 2023
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Justin Pierel (STScI), Andrew Newman (CIS)

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  • Unannotated, Full Res (For Print), 4261 × 4368
    tif (16.49 MB)
A two-panel image. At left, dozens of small galaxies are scattered on the black background of space. A curved and distorted galaxy image on the right side is highlighted with a white box. Lines extend from the box’s corners to the right panel, which shows an enlarged view of the curved galaxy image. Two faint points of light are circled.
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 James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide 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: F115W+F150W, Green: F200W+F277W, Red: F356W+F444W

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Justin Pierel (STScI), Andrew Newman (CIS)

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