The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a relatively small galaxy known as UGC 5189A.which is located about 150 million light years away, in the constellation Leo.

This galaxy was observed studying a supernova explosion in 2010 known as SN 2010jl. This particular supernova is notable because it was an exceptionally bright supernova event.

Actually there is over a period of three years SN 2010jl released at least 2.5 billion times more visible energy than our Sun emitted at all wavelengths during the same periodreports NASA.

Even after supernovae fade to unobservable levels, it is still interesting to study the environments in which they occurred.

These studies can provide astronomers with valuable information: supernovas can occur for a variety of reasons, and understanding the environments in which they occur helps improve our understanding of the conditions that caused them.

Follow-up studies after supernovae also improve our understanding of the immediate consequences of such events: from their powerful effects on the gas and dust that surround them to the stellar debris they leave behind.

Hubble has observed UGC 5189A many times since 2010. This image comes from data collected in three of Hubble’s latest surveys of UGC 5189A. Europe Press.

These studies also examined several other relatively nearby galaxies that recently hosted supernovae; ‘Relatively close’ in this context means a distance of about 100 million light years. (JO)