ESO Telescope Finds Type II Supernova Exploding In Cartwheel Galaxy [Watch]

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released a new photograph of a supernova explosion in the Cartwheel galaxy in the constellation Sculptor, 500 million light-years away.

A type II supernova event known as SN2021afdx occurs in the lower-left corner of the right picture.

This event occurs when a giant star approaches the conclusion of its existence, as captured by ESO's New Technology Telescope (NTT) in December 2021.

Supernovae, according to ESO, can cause a star to glow brighter than its host galaxy and can be visible to observers for months or even years - a blink of an eye on cosmic timeframes.

Something new in the sky — Around 500 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor lies a rather peculiar looking galaxy, known as the Cartwheel galaxy. It was once a normal spiral galaxy that underwent a head-on interaction with a smaller companion galaxy several million years ago, giving it its signature cartwheel appearance. ESO/Inserra et al., Amram et al

Astronomers Find Cartwheel Galaxy

The ATLAS survey - an asteroid impact early warning system - first detected SN2021afdx in November 2021. The enhanced Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey for Transient Objects, ePESSTO+, was then released.

According to Devdiscourse, EFOSC2 and SOFI instruments on the NTT at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile are used by the latter to examine objects that are only visible in the night sky for a limited period.

The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) obtained the picture on the left in August 2014. It depicts the Cartwheel galaxy before the supernova explosion.

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This galaxy's cartwheel form results from a close encounter with a smaller partner galaxy many million years ago. The galaxy's nucleus is the bright object in the image's center.

According to SciNews, the galaxy has a diameter of 150,000 light-years and a mass of around 3 billion solar masses, it is also known as ESO 350-40, IRAS 00352-3359, and LEDA 2248.

Cartwheel Galaxy Considered As Supernova

Astronomers said in a Space.com report that SN2021afdx is a type II supernova. The said celestial object contains hydrogen and is triggered by a big star running out of the fuel needed to keep it from collapsing under its own gravity.

When a supernova explodes, it produces a dazzling burst that may illuminate the whole host galaxy, as well as flinging debris into space.

To confirm the star explosion in Cartwheel, scientists enlisted the help of a few additional telescopes. These telescopes, such as the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii, are designed to investigate phenomena only visible in the sky for a limited period of time like supernovas.

Another project situated in Chile, the ESO's Advanced Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey for Transient Objects (ePESSTO+), supplied data to the research.

ESO said the observations allowed researchers to quantify galactic radiation and determine that the recent star explosion was a type II supernova.