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The supernova that just won't fade away   This optical-ultraviolet image shows a face-on view of the 'grand-design' spiral galaxy M100, about 56 million light years away in the Virgo galaxy cluster. The galaxy is about 100 000 light years across, much like our own spiral galaxy. The position of supernova SN 1979C is marked with a white circle.
The image was taken with XMM-Newton's Optical Monitor in the B, U and UVW1 filters. The streak across the image is from an artifact caused by the camera.  This is an image of X-ray light from the galaxy M100. No longer do we see the prominent spiral arms of the galaxy, apparent in optical images. Instead, the X-ray image reveals high-energy activity throughout the galaxy. The most active region is the galaxy centre. The red and orange regions are sources of very hot, diffuse gas between stars. SN 1979C is the orange hotspot about 7 o'clock from the white galactic centre.
This XMM-Newton image is a composite of three X-ray energy bands: soft, 0.3-1.5 keV (in red); medium, 1.5-4 keV (in green); and hard, 4-10 keV (in blue, which is blended into the white core). Release date: 21 July 2005 |