Death of a rare star: Hubble telescope captures the explosion of an unusual supernova (photo).

The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of a rare supernova explosion occurring as a white dwarf disintegrates. This star exploded in the distant galaxy LEDA 22057, located 650 million light-years away from Earth, according to Space.

The new photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope showcases the spiral galaxy LEDA 22057, where the explosion of the rare supernova was detected. The twisted mass of the spiral galaxy is concentrated around an oval core emitting white light, with curving spiral arms extending from it.

The supernova has been designated SN 2024PI and can be seen as a pale blue dot that stands out against the backdrop of interstellar gas, positioned slightly below and to the right of the core of the spiral galaxy.

The Hubble Space Telescope captured the image of this rare supernova approximately a month and a half after astronomers received data indicating that a white dwarf had exploded in the distant galaxy. As a result, supernova SN 2024PI appears less bright in this image than it did at the moment of the star's explosion.

Typically, supernovae occur when massive stars explode at the end of their lives, leading to their complete destruction. However, there are rare type Ia supernovae, and SN 2024PI belongs to this category. For a type Ia supernova explosion to occur, a white dwarf star is required. These are small, Earth-sized, very dense stars whose mass can reach that of the Sun or more, formed after the death of ordinary stars similar to the Sun or slightly more massive.

To be more precise, for a type Ia supernova explosion to occur, the white dwarf must be part of a binary star system, where two stars orbit around a common center of mass. Often, the companion of the white dwarf is a massive red giant star. The white dwarf siphons off some of the material from its companion, and when it accumulates too much mass, a thermonuclear explosion occurs, destroying the small and very dense star.

It is worth noting that the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit in 1990 and is a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency.