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Credit & Copyright: Russell Croman
Explanation:
What powers this unusual nebula?
CTB-1 is the expanding gas shell that was left when a massive star toward the constellation
of
Cassiopeia
exploded about 10,000 years ago.
The star likely detonated when it ran out of elements, near its core, that could
create
stabilizing pressure with
nuclear fusion.
The resulting
supernova remnant, nicknamed the Medulla Nebula for its
brain-like shape, still glows in
visible light by the
heat generated by its collision with confining
interstellar gas.
Why
the nebula also glows in
X-ray light, though,
remains a mystery.
One hypothesis holds that an energetic
pulsar
was co-created that powers the nebula with a fast outwardly moving wind.
Following this lead, a pulsar has
recently been found in
radio waves
that appears to have been expelled by the
supernova explosion
at over 1000 kilometers per second.
Although the Medulla Nebula appears as large as a
full moon,
it is so faint that it took 130-hours of exposure with
two small telescopes in
New Mexico,
USA, to create the
featured image.
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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: 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