The large numbers of bright bluish knots are active star-forming regions where some very luminous and young stars can be perceived.

[9] SN 2004dk was initially classified by European Southern Observatory astronomer Fernando Patat et al. on 4 Aug 2004 as a Type Ic supernova.

[10] Type Ib and Ic supernovae are the end result of massive stars (> 8 solar masses) that have run out of nuclear fuel.

Normally one would expect to see evidence of hydrogen and helium, but when these supernova occur in a binary system the companion has sometimes gravitationally stripped the outer layers of the progenitor star away, leaving only the heavier elements.

Over the following weeks Alexei Filippenko et al. and the University of California at Berkeley discovered prominent He I absorption lines, thus changing the classification of the supernova to Type Ib.