A stellar graveyard in the sky

What’s left over after a massive star reaches the end of its life I hear you ask? Take a look for yourself. This Picture of the Week shows a small but very intricate portion of the Vela supernova remnant, the violent and yet beautiful aftermath of an explosive stellar death. 

This dramatic scene played out around 11 000 years ago when a massive star in the constellation Vela went supernova. During this violent event, the star would have shined so brightly that it could be seen during the day.

The detailed and stunning view of both the gaseous filaments in the remnant and the bright blue stars in the foreground were captured using the 286-million-pixel OmegaCAM at the VLT Survey Telescope, hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. OmegaCAM can take images through several filters that each let the telescope observe the light emitted in a distinct colour. To capture this image, four filters have been used, represented here by a combination of magenta, blue, green and red.

Oikeudet:

ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgement: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Kuvasta

Tunnistus:potw2347a
Tyyppi:Havainto
Julkaisupäivä:20. marraskuuta 2023 6:00
Koko:6404 x 6578 px

Kohteesta

Nimi:Vela Supernova Remnant
Tyyppi:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Constellation:Vela
Kategoria:Nebulae

Kuvaformaatit

Suuri JPEG
12,5 MB
Kokoruudun JPEG
416,0 KB

Zoomattavissa


Taustakuvat

1024x768
354,5 KB
1280x1024
538,7 KB
1600x1200
730,6 KB
1920x1200
829,0 KB
2048x1536
1,1 MB

Koordinaatit

Position (RA):8 30 52.83
Position (Dec):-43° 55' 35.28"
Field of view:23.55 x 24.18 arcminutes
Suuntaus:Pohjoinen on 0.1° oikea pystysuuntaan nähden

Värit ja suotimet

KaistaAallonpituusTeleskooppi
Ultravioletti
u
360 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM
Optinen
g
480 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM
Optinen
r
625 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM
Optinen
i
770 nmVLT Survey Telescope
OmegaCAM
Optinen
H-alpha
659 nmVery Large Telescope
OmegaCAM