Explanation:
It's easy to get lost following the intricate filaments in this
detailed image of faint
supernova remnant Simeis 147.
Also cataloged as Sh2-240 and seen towards the constellation
Taurus,
it covers nearly 3 degrees (6 full moons) on the sky.
That corresponds to a width of 150 light-years at
the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years.
The remarkable narrow-band composite image in the
Hubble color palette
includes emission from hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen atoms
tracing regions of shocked, glowing gas.
This supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000
years - meaning light from the massive stellar explosion first
reached Earth 40,000 years ago.
But this expanding remnant is not the only
aftermath.
The cosmic catastrophe
also left behind
a spinning neutron star or pulsar,
all that remains of the original star's core.
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