Hello out there?
Astrophysics deals with huge, vast distances. It's a crucial task to measure the distance to faraway objects like galaxies, but it's also a very difficult one.
Thankfully, Hubble can help by observing something called a "Type Ia" supernova, which is used like a distance marker. This type of supernova occurs when a white dwarf star explodes, and their peak brightness is very consistent.
Since astronomers know this brightness, they can use that to measure how far away something is by how dim a Type Ia supernova appears. But intergalactic dust can sometimes pose an issue when it interferes with brightness.
Scientists can use Hubble to take images of the same Type Ia supernovae in ultraviolet light, which the dust almost completely blocks out, and in infrared light, which passes through dust nearly unaffected. By noting how much light comes through at each wavelength, astronomers can determine how much dust lies between Hubble and the supernova, letting them confidently calibrate the relationship between a supernova’s brightness and its distance.
This #hubblefriday image is the result of one such supernova observation. The galaxy NGC 3810 is pictured here, about 50 million light-years away, with a supernova visible as a bright point of light just below the galaxy's core.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Sand, R. J. Foley
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