A tranquil spiral galaxy, classified as UGC 12295, was captured by NASA / ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope in a galaxy that lies 192 million light-years from Earth. It can be found in the constellation Pisces and nearly face-on when viewed from our planet, complete with a bright central bar as well as tightly wound spiral arms.
Despite looking calm and tranquil, UGC 12295 actually hosted a supernova, or the explosive death of a massive star. Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 was used to observe UGC 12295 and study the remnants of this vast stellar explosion. Two different teams focused on different areas, with the first one examining the supernova’s detritus to better understand the evolution of matter in our universe.
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The second team of astronomers also explored the aftermath of UGC 12295’s supernova, but their investigation focused on returning to the sites of some of the best-studied nearby earlier supernovae. Hubble’s keen vision can reveal lingering traces of these energetic events, shedding light on the nature of the systems that host them,” said Claire Andreoli, Public Affairs Officer at NASA.
