Fireworks in the Sky
Glowing gaseous streamers of red, white, and blue - as well as green and pink - illuminate the heavens like Fourth of July fireworks. The colorful streamers that float across the sky in this photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope were created by the universe's biggest firecracker, the titanic supernova explosion of a massive star.
The light from the exploding star reached Earth 320 years ago. The dead star's shredded remains are called Cassiopeia A, or 'Cas A' for short. Cas A is the youngest known supernova remnant in our Milky Way Galaxy and resides 10, 000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia, so the star actually blew up 10, 000 years before the light reached Earth in the late 1600s.
Credit:About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
Id: | opo0215a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 3 July 2002, 06:00 |
Size: | 2226 x 1453 px |
About the Object
Name: | Cassiopeia A, SNR 111.7-02.1 |
Type: | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant |
Distance: | 11000 light years |
Constellation: | Cassiopeia |
Category: | Nebulae |
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 23 23 28.67 |
Position (Dec): | 58° 49' 40.81" |
Field of view: | 3.70 x 2.41 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 5.5° right of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Infrared Z | 850 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Optical R | 675 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Ultraviolet B | 450 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |