The Vela Supernova Remnant Expands
Credit & Copyright: David Malin
(AAO),
AATB
Explanation:
The explosion is over but the consequences continue.
About eleven thousand years ago a star in the
constellation of Vela exploded, creating a
strange point of light briefly visible to humans living near the
beginning of recorded history.
The outer layers of the star crashed into the
interstellar medium, driving a
shock wave that is still
visible today.
Different colors in the complex, right moving shock,
pictured on the left, represent
different energies of impact of the
shock front. The star on the left appears by chance in the foreground, and
the long diagonal line is also unrelated.
Remaining at the center of the
Vela Supernova Remnant is a
pulsar, a star as dense as
nuclear matter that completely rotates more than
ten times in a single second.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
