Multiple Views of Distant Supernova Made by Foreground Galaxy Cluster | Hubble

Multiple Views of Distant Supernova Made by Foreground Galaxy Cluster | Hubble

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the powerful gravity of a galaxy embedded in a massive cluster of galaxies producing multiple images of a single distant supernova far behind it.

The image shows the galaxy’s location within a large cluster of galaxies called MACS J1149.6+2223, located more than 5 billion light-years away. In the enlarged inset view of the galaxy, the arrows point to the multiple images of the exploding star, named Supernova Refsdal, located 9.3 billion light-years from Earth.

Gravitationally lensed supernovae like SN Refsdal offer astronomers a unique way to calculate the Hubble constant—the rate at which the universe is accelerating. Compared to traditional methods that rely on measuring brightness of objects like type Ia supernovae, the method of using gravitationally lensed supernovae relies on geometrics.

One research team is now readying astronomers to find, and study, these rare objects using NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch by May 2027.

Image Credits:

NASA, ESA, Steve A. Rodney (JHU), Tommaso Treu (UCLA), Patrick Kelly (UC Berkeley), Jennifer Lotz (STScI), Marc Postman (STScI), Zolt G. Levay (STScI), FrontierSN Team, GLASS Team, HFF Team (STScI), CLASH Team

Release Date: Feb. 7, 2024

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