Credit & Copyright: Ken Crawford
(Rancho Del Sol Observatory)
Explanation:
This shock wave plows through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour.
Moving right to left in the
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, 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.
digg_url = 'http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090108.html'; digg_skin = 'compact';
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: supernova remnant - shock wave
Publications with words: supernova remnant - shock wave
See also:
- 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
- APOD: 2023 November 21 Á Flemings Triangular Wisp
- APOD: 2023 October 18 Á Dust and the Western Veil Nebula
- APOD: 2023 August 6 Á SN 1006: A Supernova Ribbon from Hubble