Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, is the home of a supernova discovered earlier this year. Early light curves and spectra of the supernova showed that the doomed star was surrounded by a dense shell of gas, likely ejected from the star itself through winds or eruptions. This finding suggests that the last few years of a supernova progenitor star's life are anything but calm. To learn more about this recent supernova, you can read our AAS Nova highlight and the corresponding research article in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. [Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, K. Kuntz (JHU), F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii), J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Lab), J. Mould (NOAO), Y.-H. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana) and STScI; CFHT Image: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/J.-C. Cuillandre/Coelum; NOAO Image: G. Jacoby, B. Bohannan, M. Hanna/NOAO/AURA/NSF]