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PIA13478: Giant Star Goes Supernova, Smothered by its own Dust (Artist's Concept)
A giant star in a faraway galaxy recently ended its life with a dust-shrouded whimper instead of the more typical bang in this artist's concept based on data from Spitzer's Space Telescope.
 Mission:  Spitzer Space Telescope 
 Product Size:  3872 x 2592 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  IPAC-Caltech 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA13478.tif (30.11 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA13478.jpg (702.1 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

While searching the skies for black holes using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers discovered a giant supernova that was smothered in its own dust. In this artist's rendering, an outer shell of gas and dust -- which erupted from the star hundreds of years ago -- obscures the supernova within. This event in a distant galaxy hints at one possible future for the brightest star system in our own Milky Way.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2010-10-12