Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA, and the
Hubble Heritage Team
(STScI/AURA);
Acknowledgment:
J. Hughes
(Rutgers U.)
Explanation:
What is causing the picturesque ripples of supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5?
The ripples, as well as the greater nebula, were
imaged in unprecedented detail by the
Hubble Space Telescope
in 2006 and again late last year.
The red color was recoded by a Hubble filter that left only the light emitted by
energetic hydrogen.
The precise reason for the ripples remains unknown, with two considered origin hypotheses
relating them to relatively dense portions of either ejected or impacted gas.
The reason for the broader
red glowing
ring
is more clear, with expansion speed and light echos relating it to a classic
Type Ia supernova
explosion that must have occurred about 400 years earlier.
SNR 0509
currently spans about 23
light years
and lies about 160,000 light years away toward the constellation of the dolphinfish
(Dorado) in the
Large Magellanic Cloud.
The expanding ring carries with it another great mystery,
however: why wasn't this
supernova
seen 400 years ago when light from the initial blast should have passed the Earth?
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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 - nebula - hydrogen
Publications with words: supernova remnant - nebula - hydrogen
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 18 Á The Mermaid Nebula Supernova Remnant
- APOD: 2024 June 11 Á Colorful Stars and Clouds near Rho Ophiuchi
- 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