NASA | GSFC | Hubble | 2017 Oct 09
Light from a supernova explosion in the nearby starburst galaxy M82 is reverberating off a huge dust cloud in interstellar space.[attachment=0]stsci-h-p1742a-m.jpg[/attachment][hr][/hr]
The supernova, called SN 2014J, occurred at the upper right of M82, and is marked by an “X.” The supernova was discovered on Jan. 21, 2014.
The inset images at top reveal an expanding shell of light from the stellar explosion sweeping through interstellar space, called a “light echo.” The images were taken 10 months to nearly two years after the violent event (Nov. 6, 2014 to Oct. 12, 2016). The light is bouncing off a giant dust cloud that extends 300 to 1,600 light-years from the supernova and is being reflected toward Earth.
SN 2014J is classified as a Type Ia supernova and is the closest such blast in at least four decades. A Type Ia supernova occurs in a binary star system consisting of a burned-out white dwarf and a companion star. The white dwarf explodes after the companion dumps too much material onto it. ...
Hubble Movie Shows Movement of Light Echo Around Exploded Star
NASA | STScI | HubbleSite | 2017 Nov 09
Interstellar-Medium Mapping in M82 Through Light Echoes Around Supernova 2014J - Yi Yang et al
- Astrophysical Journal 834(1):60 (2017 Jan 01) DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/834/1/60
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1610.02458 > 08 Oct 2016 (v1), 07 Nov 2016 (v2)
