Tangled — cosmic edition
This dark, tangled web is an object named SNR 0454-67.2. It formed in a very violent fashion — it is a supernova remnant, created after a massive star ended its life in a cataclysmic explosion and threw its constituent material out into surrounding space. This created the messy formation we see in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, with threads of red snaking amidst dark, turbulent clouds.
SNR 0454-67.2 is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf spiral galaxy that lies close to the Milky Way. The remnant is likely the result of a Type Ia supernova explosion; this category of supernovae is formed from the death of a white dwarf star, which grows and grows by siphoning material from a stellar companion until it reaches a critical mass and then explodes.
As they always form via a specific mechanism — when the white dwarf hits a particular mass — these explosions always have a well-known luminosity, and are thus used as markers (standard candles) for scientists to obtain and measure distances throughout the Universe.
Credit:ESA/Hubble, NASA
About the Image
Id: | potw1848a |
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Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 26 November 2018, 06:00 |
Size: | 3945 x 4165 px |
About the Object
Name: | SNR 0454-67.2 |
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Type: | Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant |
Distance: | 163000 light years |
Constellation: | Dorado |
Category: | Nebulae |
Image Formats
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 4 54 31.32 |
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Position (Dec): | -67° 12' 55.72" |
Field of view: | 2.60 x 2.75 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 185.5° left of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
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Optical G | 475 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical V | 555 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical H-alpha | 656 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |