Hidden Among Supernovae

Approximately as bright in the night sky as Proxima Centauri, this quiescent spiral galaxy known as NGC 1058 betrays its unassuming appearance with a record of supernovae and starburst activity. Captured by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) at Gemini North, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, the galaxy lies about 30 million light-years away in the constellation of Perseus as part of the NGC 1023 Group. A Seyfert Type 2 galaxy, NGC 1058 hosts a luminous center with a mix of blues and pinks along its arms that indicate active regions of star formation. Three supernovae have been observed in the galaxy: SN 1961V, SN 1969L, and SN 2007gr. SN 1961V has been enveloped in mystery as its explosion is yet to be understood. Although a faint shell of expanding gas can just be resolved by astronomers, some are skeptical because there is a remaining bright star near the position of its wake. As the ‘supernova’ gradually fades into the night, the incriminating star continues to shine with an unusually long decay time.

You can see another view of NGC 1058 from Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, here.

Credit:

International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Image processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Rodriguez (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)

About the Image

Id:iotw2403a
Type:Observation
Release date:Jan. 17, 2024, noon
Size:2032 x 1894 px

About the Object

Name:NGC 1058
Constellation:Perseus
Category:Galaxies

Image Formats

Large JPEGLarge JPEG
1.0 MB
Screensize JPEGScreensize JPEG
231.6 KB

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Coordinates

ObjectValue
Position (RA):2 43 27.28
Position (Dec):37° 20' 30.72"
Field of view:4.93 x 4.60 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 270.1° left of vertical


Colors & filters

BandWave-lengthTele-scope
Optical
g
475 nmGemini North
GMOS-N
Optical
r
630 nmGemini North
GMOS-N
Optical
Z
876 nmGemini North
GMOS-N
Optical
H-alpha
656 nmGemini North
GMOS-N
Optical
i
780 nmGemini North
GMOS-N