Between Scylla and Charybdis: A Double Cosmic Discovery
Image Credit:
M. Drechsler, Y. Sainty, A. Soto, N. Martino,
L. Leroux-Gere,
S. Khallouqui, & A. Kaeouach;
Text:
Ogetay Kayali
(Michigan Tech U.)
Can you identify this celestial object?
Likely not — because this is a
discovery image.
Massive stars forge heavy elements in their cores and,
after a few million years, end their lives in powerful
supernova explosions.
These
remnants cool relatively quickly and fade,
making them difficult to detect.
To uncover such faint, previously unknown supernova remnants,
a dedicated group of amateur astrophotographers searched through
sky surveys
for possible supernova remnant candidates.
The result: the first-ever image of supernova remnant G115.5+9.1 —
named Scylla by its discoverers—glowing faintly
in the constellation of the mythological King of Aethiopia:
Cepheus.
Emission from
hydrogen atoms in the remnant is shown in red,
and faint
emission from oxygen is shown in hues of blue.
Surprisingly, another discovery lurked to
the upper right: a faint, previously unknown
planetary nebula candidate.
In keeping with mythological tradition,
it was named Charybdis (Sai 2) — a nod to the ancient Greek expression
"caught between Scylla and Charybdis" from
Homer’s Odyssey.