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Mysterious Supernovae
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Name: NGC 5559
Description: Spiral Galaxy
Position (J2000): RA 14h 19m 12.85s Dec 24° 47' 55.28"
Constellation: Boötes
Distance: 220 million light years
Visual magnitude: 14.0
Angular size: 1.5 x 0.35 arcmin
Field of view: 1.35 x 1.22 arcminutes
Orientation: North is 4.0° right of vertical
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Release date: September 4, 2017

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ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

Like firecrackers lighting up the sky on New Year's Eve, the majestic spiral arms of NGC 5559 are alight with new stars being born. NGC 5559 is a spiral galaxy, with spiral arms filled with gas and dust sweeping out around the bright galactic bulge. These arms are a rich environment for star formation, dotted with a festive array of colors including the newborn stars glowing blue as a result of their immensely high temperatures.

NGC 5559 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 10, 1785 and lies approximately 240 million light-years away in the northern constellation of Boötes (the herdsman)

In 2001, a calcium-rich supernova called 2001co was observed in NGC 5559. Calcium-rich supernovae (Ca-rich SNe) are described as "fast-and-faint", as they're less luminous than other types of supernovae and also evolve more rapidly, to reveal spectra dominated by strong calcium lines. 2001co occurred within the disc of NGC 5559 near star-forming regions, but Ca-rich SNe are often observed at large distances from the nearest galaxy, raising curious questions about their progenitors.