La galaxia Rueda de carro vista por MUSE
A unos 500 millones de años luz de distancia, en la constelación de Sculptor, hay una galaxia de aspecto bastante peculiar conocida como la galaxia Rueda de carro. Una vez fue una galaxia espiralnormal, pero hace varios millones de años pasó por una interacción frontal con una galaxia compañera más pequeña, dándole su característica apariencia de rueda de carro.
Aunque hay otras cosas curiosas sobre este objeto. Algo interesante está ocurriendo en la esquina inferior izquierda de la imagen derecha, captada en diciembre de 2021 con el Telescopio de Nueva Tecnología (NTT) de ESO: una supernova. La imagen de la izquierda, tomada en agosto de 2014 por el instrumento MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, explorador espectroscópico multiunidad), instalado en el Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO, muestra a la galaxia antes de que esta supernova tuviera lugar.
Este evento, llamado SN2021afdx, es una supernova de tipo II, que ocurre cuando una estrella masiva llega al final de su evolución. Las supernovas pueden hacer que una estrella brille más que toda su galaxia anfitriona y pueden ser visibles para los observadores durante meses, o incluso años: un abrir y cerrar de ojos en las escalas de tiempo astronómicas. Las supernovas son una de las razones por las que los astrónomos dicen que todos estamos hechos de polvo de estrellas: salpican el espacio circundante con elementos pesados, forjados por la estrella progenitora, que pueden terminar siendo parte de generaciones posteriores de estrellas, los planetas que las rodean y la vida que pueda existir en esos planetas.
Detectar y estudiar estos eventos impredecibles requiere de colaboración internacional. La primera vez que SN2021afdx fue visto fue en noviembre de 2021 por el sondeo ATLAS, y luego fue seguido por ePESSTO+ (siglas de Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey for Transient Objects), el avanzado Estudio Espectroscópico Público de ESO para Objetos en Tránsito. ePESSTO+ está diseñado para estudiar objetos que solo están en el cielo nocturno durante períodos de tiempo muy cortos, como esta supernova. Lo hace mediante el uso de los instrumentos EFOSC2 y SOFI, instalados en el NTT, ubicado en el Observatorio La Silla de ESO, en Chile. EFOSC2 no solo tomó esta hermosa imagen, sino también espectros que permitieron al equipo de PESSTO identificar este evento como una supernova de tipo II.
Enlaces
- Vídeo que compara las imágenes obtenidas con MUSE y con el NTT.
- Comparación de imágenes.
- Imagen individual obtenida con el NTT
ESO/Amram et al.
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw2210c |
| Idioma: | es |
| Tipo: | Observación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 7 de Marzo de 2022 a las 06:00 |
| Tamaño: | 412 x 441 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | Cartwheel galaxy |
| Tipo: | Early Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Supernova Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Distancia: | 500 millón años luz |
| Constellation: | Sculptor |
Fondo de pantalla
Coordenadas
| Position (RA): | 0 37 40.32 |
| Position (Dec): | -33° 42' 52.99" |
| Field of view: | 1.37 x 1.47 arcminutes |
| Orientación: | El norte está a -0.0° a la izquierda de la vertical |
Colores y filtros
| Banda | Longitud de onda | Telescopio |
|---|---|---|
| Óptico B | 435 nm | Very Large Telescope MUSE |
| Óptico V | 550 nm | Very Large Telescope MUSE |
| Óptico R | 625 nm | Very Large Telescope MUSE |
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