Remnant of SN 1006

Caption: This image shows the remnant of the supernova SN 1006. This was probably the result of a white dwarf that accreted so much material from a binary companion star that the white dwarf exploded (this is called a Type 1a supernova by astronomers). This explosion happened several thousand years ago, however it took time for the light from this event to reach Earth, only arriving in the year 1006. This bright explosion was noticed by observers across the Earth and its appearance was noted in the records of many different societies. Here we see the effect that supernova has had on its surroundings in the galaxy. The force of the explosion has blown a huge bubble in the surrounding interstellar gas with a hot shockwave at its edge. The image appears to be a simple color picture but it actually represents light far beyond what our eye can see. The blue is X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the yellow and orange are data from optical telescopes and the red is detections in radio waves from the Very Large Array and the Green Bank Telescope. The bright blue of the outer shell shows the gas there is very hot and that the explosion produced energetic shock waves.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G.Cassam-Chenai, Hughes et al.; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/GBT/VLA/Dyer, Maddalena & Cornwell; Optical: Middlebury College/F.Winkler, NOAO/AURA/NSF/CTIO Schmidt & DSS credit link

License: PD Public Domain icons