Blog Post Image: Unusual Supernova is Doubly Unusual for Being Perfectly Normal

Supernova 2011fe was discovered just hours after it exploded in the Big Dipper. Studies by the Nearby Supernova Factory of its spectrum as it evolved over time have produced a benchmark atlas of data by which to measure all future Type Ia’s. (Image credit: B. J. Fulton, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network.)