Explanation:
It's easy to get lost following the intricate filaments in this
detailed mosaic image of faint
supernova remnant Simeis 147 (S147).
Also cataloged as Sh2-240,
it covers nearly 3 degrees or 6 full moons on the sky.
That's about 150 light-years at
the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years.
Anchoring the frame at the right, bright star
Elnath
(Beta Tauri) is seen towards the boundary of the
constellations
Taurus
and Auriga, almost exactly opposite the galactic center
in planet Earth's sky.
This sharp composite includes image data taken through
a narrow-band filter to highlight emission from hydrogen atoms
tracing the shocked, glowing gas.
The 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 the 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.
