NASA released a Hubble image of galaxy cluster MACS J0417, captured Sept. 19, the day the telescope completed its 200,000th orbit of Earth. Hubble is revisiting the region for supernova Athena, predicted to reappear between now and early March 2027.
MACS J0417, visible just left of the image’s center, bends and magnifies light from objects behind it, acting as a gravitational lens. Athena was discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2025. NASA says timing its reappearance could help researchers map the cluster’s mass and refine estimates of the universe’s expansion rate.
