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Credit & Copyright: Jason Dain
Explanation:
It's easy to get lost following the intricate, looping, twisting filaments in
this detailed image
of
supernova remnant
Simeis 147.
Also cataloged as Sharpless 2-240 it goes by the popular nickname,
the Spaghetti Nebula.
Seen toward
the boundary of the constellations Taurus and Auriga,
it covers nearly 3 degrees or 6 full moons on the sky.
That's about 150 light-years at
the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years.
This composite includes image data taken through narrow-band filters
where reddish emission from ionized hydrogen atoms and doubly ionized
oxygen atoms in faint blue-green hues trace the
shocked, glowing gas.
The supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000
years, meaning light from the massive stellar explosion first
reached Earth 40,000 years ago.
But the expanding remnant is not the only aftermath.
The cosmic catastrophe
also left behind
a spinning neutron star or pulsar,
all that remains of the original star's core.
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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 September 18 Á The Mermaid Nebula Supernova Remnant
- 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