Hubble Sees Explosive Spiral Galaxy: LEDA 53183

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has delivered an unrivalled snapshot of a spiral galaxy called LEDA 53183.

This image, taken with the Wide-Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the spiral galaxy LEDA 53183. Three filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

LEDA 53183, also known as ESO 580-49 or IRAS F14502-1931, resides in the constellation of Libra.

This spiral galaxy may seem tranquil and unassuming, but it actually displays some explosive tendencies.

In October of 2011, a so-called gamma-ray burst (GRB) — a cataclysmic burst of high-energy gamma-ray radiation — was detected coming from the region of sky containing LEDA 53183.

Scientists believe that the galaxy was the host of this event, given that the chance of a coincidental alignment between the two is roughly 1 in 10 million.

At a distance of 171 million light-years from Earth, the event — catalogued as GRB 111005A — was the second-closest GRB ever detected.

The exact cause of GRB 111005A remains a mystery.

Several events are known to lead to GRBs, but none of these explanations appear to fit the bill in this case.

Astronomers have therefore suggested that LEDA 53183 hosted a new type of GRB explosion — one that has not yet been characterized.

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