PIA13478: Giant Star Goes Supernova, Smothered by its own Dust (Artist's Concept)
 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)

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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