An astronomer has captured a rare supernova flash in the galaxy NGC7331, a momentous event that occurred 43 million years ago but whose light only recently reached Earth.

Alexey Polyakov, the astronomer who captured the event, was positioned 100 kilometers from a city, specifically in the village of Dergausovo. The shooting session lasted 3.5 hours, limited by the short summer nights.

The supernova, located in the galaxy NGC7331, is 50 million light-years away in the northern constellation Pegasus. The galaxy’s structure is similar to that of the Milky Way.

A supernova flash is one of the most powerful occurrences in the universe, releasing a tremendous amount of energy and briefly outshining the core of its galaxy. According to Polyakov, such an event serves as a “time machine” due to the vast distances and time spans involved.

Previously, Polyakov had also filmed the remnant of a supernova explosion in the constellation Cygnus, dedicating 8.5 hours to that particular filming session.