HEAPOW logo


Twin supernovae in NGC 1316
Credit:NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler


Was Kilroy Here?

An extremely unusual event was seen by NASA's Swift satellite - twin supernovae exploding in the galaxy NGC 1316. NGC 1316 seems like a rather dangerous place: galaxies the size of NGC 1316 usually have 3 supernovae every century, but NGC 1316 hosted 2 supernovae in less than 5 months. NGC 1316 is strange for another reason: it recently swallowed a spiral galaxy. Did the merger of these two galaxies somehow trigger all the supernovae explosions? Astronomers don't see how, but are hot on the case.


< HEA DictionaryArchiveSearch HEAPOWOther LanguagesHEAPOW on FacebookDownload all ImagesEducationHEAD >



Each week the HEASARC brings you new, exciting and beautiful images from X-ray and Gamma ray astronomy. Check back each week and be sure to check out the HEAPOW archive!


Page Author: Dr. Michael F. Corcoran
Last modified Tuesday, 27-Feb-2024 10:06:49 EST