Scientists watch supernova in real-time

Scientists are studying a strange explosion that appeared on February 18, 2006, about 440 million light years away in the constellation Aries. The "before" image on the left is from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The "after" image on the right is from NASA Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope. The pinpoint of light from this star explosion outshines the entire host galaxy. Most other sources are foreground stars. Each image is 5 arcminutes by 5 arcminutes. Coordinates for this burst are as follows: RA: 03:21:39.71 Dec: +16:52:02.6. Credit: SDSS (left), NASA/Swift/UVOT (right)