Image List

This artist’s impression of SN 2017egm shows the power source for this extraordinarily bright supernova. The explosion was triggered by a massive star that collapsed to form a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field and rapid spin, called a magnetar. Debris from the supernova explosion is shown in blue and the magnetar is shown in red.

This optical image from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) shows the metal-rich spiral galaxy NGC 3191, the host of the closest superluminous supernova to the Earth discovered to date, SN 2017egm. The supernova is visualized by adding a simulated source that matches the measured position, blue color and intensity of this intense cataclysmic event.