Extragalactic peculiarity
This galaxy goes by the name of ESO 162-17 and is located about 40 million light-years away in the constellation of Carina. At first glance this image seems like a fairly standard picture of a galaxy with dark patches of dust and bright patches of young, blue stars. However, a closer look reveals several peculiar features.
Firstly, ESO 162-17 is what is known as a peculiar galaxy — a galaxy that has gone through interactions with its cosmic neighbours, resulting in an unusual amount of dust and gas, an irregular shape, or a strange composition.
Secondly, on 23 February 2010 astronomers observed the supernova known as SN 2010ae nestled within this galaxy. The supernova belongs to a recently discovered class of supernovae called Type Iax supernovae. This class of objects is related to the better known Type-Ia supernovae.
Type Ia supernovae result when a white dwarf accumulates enough mass either from a companion or, rarely, through collision with another white dwarf, to initiate a catastrophic collapse followed by a spectacular explosion as a supernova. Type Iax supernovae also involve a white dwarf as the central star, but in this case it may survive the event. Type Iax supernovae are much fainter and rarer than Type Ia supernovae, and their exact mechanism is still a matter of open debate.
The rather beautiful four-pointed shape of foreground stars distributed around ESO 162-17 also draws the eye. This is an optical effect introduced as the incoming light is diffracted by the four struts that support the Hubble Space Telescope’s small secondary mirror.
Credit:ESA/Hubble & NASA
About the Image
Id: | potw1516a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 20 April 2015, 10:00 |
Size: | 4042 x 1819 px |
About the Object
Name: | ESO 162-17 |
Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Irregular |
Distance: | 40 million light years |
Constellation: | Carina |
Category: | Galaxies |
Image Formats
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 7 15 54.12 |
Position (Dec): | -57° 20' 33.79" |
Field of view: | 3.36 x 1.51 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 134.8° right of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical B | 435 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical V | 555 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical R | 625 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |