Clicking a star’s death explosion from 45 million years ago
Students from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) successfully captured an image of a supernova explosion that occurred 45 million years ago. The team used the institute's observatory to photograph the event in the NGC 7331 galaxy.
Why it matters
This achievement highlights the capabilities of student-led research in astronomy and contributes to global observational data.
Imagine standing in Thiruvananthapuram in the present moment and photographing the death explosion of a star that happened some 45 million years ago. That’s what Celestials, the student astronomy club of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), here, did this month.
The club members have joined the global community of astronomers and astrophotographers who have successfully clicked the image of the supernova SN 2026aaiv which was observed in NGC 7331, a spiral galaxy located in the direction of the constellation Pegasus roughly 45 million light years away from earth. The IIST image shows the supernova in NGC 7331 as an astonishingly bright spot toward its upper right.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in