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Credit & Copyright: Hubble
Heritage Team
(STScI/AURA),
W. Blair
(JHU) &
D. Malin
(David Malin Images),
NASA
Explanation:
At 500,000 kilometers per hour, a
supernova
shockwave plows through interstellar space.
This shockwave is known as the
Pencil Nebula, or NGC 2736, and is part of the
Vela supernova remnant,
an expanding shell of a star that exploded about
11,000 years ago.
Initially the shockwave was moving at millions of kilometers
per hour, but the weight of all the gas it has
swept up has slowed it considerably.
Pictured above, the
shockwave moves from left to right,
as can be discerned by the lack of gas on the left.
The above region spans nearly a
light year across, a
small part of the 100+ light-year span of the entire
Vela supernova remnant.
The Hubble Space Telscope
ACS captured the
above image last October.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Pencil Nebula - supernova - shock wave
Publications with words: Pencil Nebula - supernova - shock wave
See also:
- APOD: 2023 October 11 Á NGC 1097: Spiral Galaxy with Supernova
- APOD: 2023 July 9 Á Doomed Star Eta Carinae
- APOD: 2023 May 22 Á Supernova Discovered in Nearby Spiral Galaxy M101
- Supernova Cannon Expels Pulsar J0002
- SN Requiem: A Supernova Seen Three Times So Far
- NGC 7814: Little Sombrero with Supernova
- Supernova in NGC 2525