Supernova Refsdal (Hubble image)
About This Image
Caption
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the powerful gravity of a galaxy embedded in a massive cluster of galaxies producing multiple images of a single distant supernova far behind it.
The image shows the galaxy’s location within a large cluster of galaxies called MACS J1149.6+2223, located more than 5 billion light-years away. In the enlarged inset view of the galaxy, the arrows point to the multiple images of the exploding star, named Supernova Refsdal, located 9.3 billion light-years from Earth.
Gravitationally lensed supernovae like SN Refsdal offer astronomers a unique way to calculate the Hubble constant—the rate at which the universe is accelerating. Compared to traditional methods that rely on measuring brightness of objects like type Ia supernovae, the method of using gravitationally lensed supernovae relies on geometrics.
One research team is now readying astronomers to find, and study, these rare objects using NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch by May 2027.
About The Object
- Object Name
- SN Refsdal, SN HFF14Ref (supernova), MACS J1149.6+2223 (cluster)
- Object Description
- Multiply Imaged, Gravitationally Lensed Supernova and Lensing Galaxy Cluster
- R.A. Position
- 11:49:35.08
- Dec. Position
- 22:24:10.94
- Constellation
- Leo
About The Data
- Data Description
- This image is created from data from the following HST proposals: 13459 T. Treu (UCLA) et al. and the GLASS team, 13504J. Lotz (STScI) et al. and the Frontier Fields team, 13790 S. Rodney (JHU) et al. and the FrontierSN team, and 14041 P. Kelly (UCLA) et al. and the Refsdal team. The science team includes: P. Kelly (UC Berkeley), S. Rodney (JHU), T. Treu (UCLA), R. Foley (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), G. Brammer (STScI), K. Schmidt (UC Santa Barbara), A. Zitrin (Caltech), A. Sonnenfeld (UCLA), L.-G. Strolger (Western Kentucky University/STScI), O. Graur (New York University/American Museum of Natural History), A. Filippenko (UC Berkeley), S. Jha (Rutgers University), A. Riess (JHU/STScI), M. Bradac (UC Davis), B. Weiner (Steward Observatory/UA), D. Scolnic (University of Chicago), M. Malkan (UCLA), A. von der Linden (Dark Cosmology Centre, Copenhagen/KIPAC, Stanford), M. Trenti (University of Melbourne), J. Hjorth (Dark Cosmology Centre, Copenhagen), R. Gavazzi (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris), A. Fontana (INAF-OAR), J. Merten (Caltech), C. McCully and T. Jones (UC Santa Barbara), M. Postman (STScI), A. Dressler (Carnegie Observatories), B. Patel (Rutgers University), S. B. Cenko (NASA/GSFC), M. Graham (UC Berkeley), and B. Tucker (UC Berkeley/Australia National University).
- Instrument
- ACS/WFC; WFC3/IR
- Exposure Dates
- November 3, 2014 - December 14, 2014
- Filters
- ACS/WFC: F606W and F814W WFC3/IR: F105W, F125W, F140W, and F160W
About The Image
- Color Info
- These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the ACS and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad 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: F606W+F814W Green: F105W+F125W Red: F140W+F160W
About The Object
- Object Name
- A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
- Object Description
- The type of astronomical object.
- R.A. Position
- Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
- Dec. Position
- Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
- Constellation
- One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
About The Data
- Data Description
- Proposal: 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.
- Instrument
- The science instrument used to produce the data.
- Exposure Dates
- The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
- Filters
- The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
- Color Info
- A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
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