14 DAY TRIAL // A team of astronomers was recently able to identify a new stellar explosion in a nearby galaxy, an event that led to the creation of a massive supernova. The object, now called SN 2013ek, lies in the spiral galaxy NGC 6984, which is located around 180 million light-years away from Earth.
Using NASA's flagship observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, the research team was able to capture this image of the spiral galaxy, where the forming supernova was identified. Hubble surveys the Universe in near-infrared, optical and ultraviolet wavelengths.
Supernova events occur when the cores of massive stars implode, after they exhaust all of their hydrogen fuel. At that point, they become unable to support nuclear fusion, and violently eject the layers surrounding the stellar core. These remnants are then heavily irradiated and begin to glow.
The explosions created during supernova events are so intense and bright that they can briefly outshine entire galaxies. Historically, some of these star collapses have been viewed from Earth even during the day, such was their intensity.