Sunny Priyan
The subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a supernova-hosting galaxy located about 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley
Hubble captured this image roughly two months after a supernova named SN 2022aajn was discovered. The supernova is visible as a blue dot at the center of the image, brightening the hazy body of the galaxy.
Image Credit: Freepik
SN 2022aajn is what’s known as a Type Ia supernova, which results from the explosion of the core of a dead star.
Image Credit: Freepik
Supernovae of this type help astronomers measure the distance to faraway galaxies.
Image Credit: Freepik
Type Ia supernovae act as cosmic yardsticks—their consistent intrinsic brightness lets scientists measure their distance by comparing it to how bright they appear from Earth.
Image Credit: Freepik
To separate the effects of dust and distance, researchers use Hubble to study 100 Type Ia supernovae across multiple wavelengths, as infrared light reveals clearer distances through cosmic dust.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley