超新星遗迹Simeis 147

2022年1月13日

Supernova Remnant Simeis 147
Image 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.

Tomorrow’s picture: pixels in space

超新星遗迹Simeis 147
影像提供与版权: Jason Dain

说明: 在这张超新星遗迹Simeis 147的细致影像里，视线很容易迷失在繁复的环状结构里。编录号亦为Sh2-240的Simeis 147，更常见的昵称是意大利面星云。位在金牛座和御夫座交界方向的Simeis 147，涵盖了将近3度（6个满月宽度）的天区。以这团恒星碎片云3,000光年的估计距离来换算，它的跨幅大约为150光年。这幅精彩的组合影像，部份的影像数据，是使用只透过电离氢原子泛红辉光和双电离氧原子蓝绿辐射的窄波段滤镜所取得，以突显这团受到激震的辉光气体。这个超新星遗迹的估计年龄大约是40,000年，也就是说，来自这次个大质量爆炸的亮光，大约在40,000年前首次传抵地球。不过，这团不停扩张的碎片云，并不是此个天体爆炸事件的唯一。在其内，部份的恒星核也孑遗下来，成为一颗称为波霎的快速自转中子星。

明日的图片: pixels in space