NASA Hubble Camera Snaps Picture of 'Titanic Explosion' in Spiral Galaxy

The recent photo captured by the NASA Hubble camera shows that the outer space is celebrating the holidays already.

The said NASA Hubble picture exhibits a titanic explosion in a spiral galaxy, leading to a bright light captured by the space telescope.

NASA Hubble Camera Captures Spiral Galaxy NGC 3568

In a recent blog post, the NASA Hubble Space Telescope showed a side-on shot of the NGC 3568, which is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Centaurus around 57 million light-years from the Milky Way.

The NASA Hubble Space Telescope is one tool astronomers have been using to keep track of some of these galaxies. Since its debut in April 1990, Hubble has been surveying the universe.

During its 31 years of existence, it has discovered a variety of galaxies outside the Milky Way. Spiral galaxies that resemble our own are among them, while others are very distinct.

The latest NASA Hubble picture displays a spiral galaxy with massive red and blue clouds covering its dazzling white core, per Screen Rant. Many stars are surrounding the galaxy, some of which are especially brilliant.

For background information, the light from a supernova explosion in NGC 3568 reached Earth in 2014, causing a rapid flare of light generated by the titanic explosion that happens when a huge star dies.

Moreover, Sci-News added that this NGC 3568 is part of the NGC 3557 group which is a collection of 12 galaxies.

On the other hand, while most astronomical discoveries are made by professional astronomy teams, this supernova was found by amateur astronomers in New Zealand as part of the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search.

These dedicated amateur astronomers frequently produce fascinating discoveries, especially of fleeting celestial events like supernovae and comets.

This Hubble discovery is based on a set of information gathered to prepare the path for a better investigation with the NASA James Webb Space Telescope.

Astronomers have compiled a lot of information on the links between young stars and the cold gas clouds in which they develop by combining ground-based observations with data from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3.

One of Webb's main scientific objectives is to learn more about the life cycle of stars, namely how and where stars are created.

Since James Webb Space Telescope observes at infrared wavelengths, it will be able to peek through clouds of gas and dust in stellar nurseries and observe the young stars within.

Due to Webb's sensitivity, astronomers will be able to examine dim protostellar cores, which are the earliest phases of star formation firsthand.

Will James Hubble Space Telescope Replace NASA Hubble?

Webb is frequently referred to as Hubble's replacement, but scientists prefer to call it Hubble's successor, per NASA.

Moreover, Hubble's research purpose influenced the scientific objectives of the said new telescope.

In addition to this, both space telescopes have different capabilities.

Webb will primarily study the universe in the infrared, whereas Hubble will focus on the optical and ultraviolet wavelengths, though it has some infrared capability.

Additionally, Webb has a far larger mirror than Hubble.

Because Webb has a wider light-collecting area, it can look back in time further than Hubble can.