Space Images: Giant Star Goes Supernova, Smothered by its own Dust (Artist's Concept) - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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A giant star in a faraway galaxy recently ended its life with a dust-shrouded whimper instead of the more typical bang in this artist's concept based on data from Spitzer's Space Telescope.

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Giant Star Goes Supernova, Smothered by its own Dust (Artist's Concept)

While searching the skies for black holes using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers discovered a giant supernova that was smothered in its own dust. In this artist's rendering, an outer shell of gas and dust -- which erupted from the star hundreds of years ago -- obscures the supernova within. This event in a distant galaxy hints at one possible future for the brightest star system in our own Milky Way.

Image details

ID#:
PIA13478

Date added:
2010-10-12

Mission:
Spitzer Space Telescope

Size:
3872 x 2592 pixels (width x height)

Rating:

Views:
3,227

Full-Res TIFF:
PIA13478.tif (30.11 MB)

Full-Res JPG:
PIA13478.jpg (0.7 MB)

Image credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech