|
Credit & Copyright: ESO
Explanation:
This shock wave
plows through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour.
Moving toward to bottom of this
beautifully
detailed color composite, the thin, braided filaments are actually
long ripples in a sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge on.
Cataloged
as NGC 2736, its narrow
appearance
suggests its popular name,
the Pencil Nebula.
About 5 light-years long and a mere 800 light-years away, the
Pencil Nebula
is only a small part of the
Vela
supernova remnant.
The Vela remnant itself
is around 100 light-years in diameter and is the expanding
debris
cloud of a star that was seen to
explode about 11,000 years ago.
Initially, the shock wave was moving at millions of kilometers
per hour but has
slowed considerably, sweeping up
surrounding interstellar gas.
Follow APOD on:
Facebook
(Daily)
(Sky)
(Spanish)
or Google Plus
(Daily)
(River)
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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: supernova remnant
Publications with words: supernova remnant
See also:
- APOD: 2024 April 16 Á Filaments of the Vela Supernova Remnant
- APOD: 2024 April 3 Á Unusual Nebula Pa 30
- APOD: 2024 March 25 Á Sonified: The Jellyfish Nebula Supernova Remnant
- APOD: 2024 February 27 Á Supernova Remnant Simeis 147
- The Pencil Nebula Supernova Shock Wave
- APOD: 2023 December 26 Á IC 443: The Jellyfish Nebula
- Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A