Astronomy Picture of the Day

NASA ^ | 3/17/09 | NASA

[sig226]

Tycho's Supernova Remnant
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: MPIA, Calar Alto, O. Krause et al.

Explanation: What star created this huge puffball? Pictured above is the best multi-wavelength image yet of Tycho's supernova remnant, the result of a stellar explosion first recorded over 400 years ago by the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. The above image is a composite of an X-ray image taken by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, an infrared image taken by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, and an optical image taken by the 3.5-meter Calar Alto telescope located in southern Spain. The expanding gas cloud is extremely hot, while slightly different expansion speeds have given the cloud a puffy appearance. Although the star that created SN 1572, is likely completely gone, a star dubbed Tycho G, too dim to be easily discerned here, is being studied as the possible companion. Finding progenitor remnants of Tycho's supernova is particularly important because the supernova was recently determined to be of Type Ia. The peak brightness of Type Ia supernovas is thought to be well understood, making them quite valuable in calibrating how our universe dims distant objects.

[al baby]

Awesome its filled with stars

[sig226]

[MaxMax]

Stars were meant to be seen and not heard

[DuncanWaring]

Is it filled with stars, or are those just a bunch of stars behind it shining through?

[mikrofon]

Sure’n ‘tis a shamrock I see in thar’...

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

It is the remnants of one star after it went nova. The stars you see ar shing through the translucency of the remnants.

'al baby' was quoting from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "2010"....David Bowman's last words, as he entered the monolith were, "My God. It's full of stars".

[DuncanWaring]

Aha! Inside joke.

Last time I saw 2001, Richard Nixon was President.

[Spirochete]

Is it filled with stars, or are those just a bunch of stars behind it shining through?

A lot of them are in 'front' of it, between us and the nebula. Both we and it are embedded in a swarm of stars.

[tx_eggman]

Best ... Lego ... Ever

[DuncanWaring]

Hmmmm ... “in front”.

Yet another possibility that hadn’t crossed my mind.

Been happening a lot lately.

[fieldmarshaldj]

“Mama mia ! That’s uh spicy-ah meat-ah-ball !”

[Ciexyz]

It's wearing the green for St. Paddy's Day!

[Bullish]

Wow.... Trip!

[potlatch]

Watch out!!

 

[potlatch]

Lost in space..

[devolve]

[devolve]

.

LOL!

Wild stuff!

[potlatch]

Very pretty.

[potlatch]

Yeah, I have plans for that gif!