Explanation:
The expanding debris cloud from the explosion of a massive star
is captured in
this
multiwavelength composite, combining x-ray and optical images
from the Chandra and Hubble telescopes.
Identified as E0102-72, the
supernova remnant lies about
190,000 light-years away in our neighboring galaxy, the
Small Magellanic Cloud.
A strong cosmic source of x-rays, E0102 was imaged by the
Chandra X-ray Observatory shortly after its launch in 1999.
In celebration of
Chandra's 10th anniversary,
this colorful
view of E0102 and its environs was created, including additional
Chandra data.
An analysis of
all
the data indicates that the
overall shape of E0102 is most likely a cylinder that is
viewed end-on rather than a spherical bubble.
The intriguing result implies that the massive star's explosion
has produced a shape similar to what is seen in some
planetary nebulaeassociated
with lower mass stars.
At the distance of the Small Magellanic Cloud, this field of view
spans about 150 light-years.
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