... Chandra Observatory , NASA Explanation: A supernova explosion, a massive star's inevitable and spectacular demise , blasts back into space debris enriched in the heavy elements forged in its stellar core . Incorporated into future stars and planets, these are the elements ultimately necessary for life. Seen here in a false-color x-ray image, supernova remnant SNR 0103-72.6 is revealed to be just such an expanding debris cloud in neighboring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud. ...