A Storm of Light

The constellation Coma Berenices hosts the galaxy NGC 4495 among myriad other astronomical objects. This galaxy has a tumultuous history: several supernovae have been recorded over the years, including the three named 1994S, 2010lo, and 2011ca. This last burst of energy from a dying star can be triggered by a number of different processes. 1994S, for example, was triggered by interactions between a white dwarf and another star, which reignited the core of the stellar remnant — a Type Ia supernova. 2011ca on the other hand is a Type Ic supernova, triggered by the core collapse of a single massive star.

This image was captured by the DOE-built Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) as part of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys. The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys were conducted to identify targets for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) operations. These surveys comprise a unique blend of three projects that have observed a third of the night sky. DESI is an international science collaboration managed by the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with primary funding for construction and operations from DOE’s Office of Science.