Cassiopeia A in a Million
One
million seconds of x-ray image data were used to construct
this view of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A,
the expanding debris cloud from a stellar explosion.
The stunningly detailed image from the
Chandra Observatory
will allow an unprecedented
exploration of the
catastrophic
fate that awaits stars much more massive
than the Sun.
Seen in false-color,
Cas A's outer green ring, 10 light-years
or so in diameter, marks the location of the expanding
shock from the original supernova explosion.
At about 10 o'clock around the ring, a structure
extends beyond it, evidence that the initial explosion
may have also produced energetic jets.
Still glowing in x-rays, the tiny point
source near the center of Cas A is a neutron star,
the collapsed remains of the stellar core.
While Cas A is about 10,000 light-years away, light from
the supernova explosion first
reached Earth just over
300 years ago.