Composite Image of UGC 5198A (IMAGE)

Chandra X-ray Center

Composite Image of UGC 5198A

Caption

This composite image shows the galaxy UGC 5189A in X-ray data from Chandra (purple) and optical data from Hubble (red, green and blue.) The very bright source near the top of the galaxy is SN 2010jl, a recently discovered supernova. Data from Chandra have provided the first X-ray evidence of a supernova shock wave breaking through a cocoon of gas surrounding the star that exploded in SN 2010jl. This discovery may help astronomers understand why some supernovas are much more powerful than others.

Credit

X-ray: NASA/CXC/Royal Military College of Canada/P.Chandra et al); Optical: NASA/STScI

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