Wanneer sterren exploderen
Meer dan 75 miljoen lichtjaar van ons verwijderd in het sterrenbeeld Virgo (Maagd) ligt NGC 4981 – een spiraalsterrenstelsel met een nogal explosief verleden.
NGC 4981 werd op 17 april 1784 door William Herschel ontdekt, en vervolgens gecatalogiseerd in de New General Catalogue van John Dreyer. Op 23 april 1968, meer dan een eeuw later, haalde het sterrenstelsel opnieuw de krantenkoppen toen in het sterrenstelsel een supernova van het type Ia — een sterexplosie in een dubbelstersysteem — plaatsvond: SN 1968I. SN 1968I was echter niet de enige supernova in dit sterrenstelsel. Decennia later leidde het instorten van de kern van een zware ster tot supernova SN 2007c.
Dit spectaculaire beeld van NGC 4981 werd vastgelegd door FORS (FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph in zichtbaar licht en in het nabij-ultravioletbereik) van ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). FORS is het Zwitserse zakmes onder de ESO-instrumenten – het kan veel verschillende astronomische objecten op diverse manieren bestuderen, en heeft enkele van de meest iconische foto’s die ooit met de VLT gemaakt zijn op zijn naam staan (zie eso9948f en eso0202a).
De gegevens om deze afbeelding te verkrijgen, werden door Josh Barrington uit het archief van ESO uitgezocht in het kader van de wedstrijd Hidden Treasures.
Credit:ESO
Acknowledgement: Flickr user Josh Barrington
Over de afbeelding
| Id: | potw1706a |
| Taal: | nl-be |
| Type: | Observatie |
| Publicatiedatum: | 6 februari 2017 06:00 |
| Grootte: | 1475 x 1203 px |
Over het object
| Naam: | NGC 4981 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Afstand: | 75 miljoen lichtjaren |
| Constellation: | Virgo |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 13 8 48.81 |
| Position (Dec): | -6° 46' 37.12" |
| Field of view: | 6.20 x 5.05 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 0.0° left of vertical |
Kleuren & filters
| Band | Telescoop |
|---|---|
| Optisch B | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
| Optisch V | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
| Optisch R | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
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