Giant cosmic networks

Eso_potw2322a_1024

eso_potw2322a May 29th, 2023

Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgement: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Sometimes dramatic events are needed to create something stunning. This beautiful structure of filaments and clouds in the southern constellation of Vela are all that remains of a massive star that died in a powerful explosion known as supernova. This is a small section of a larger image taken using the wide-field camera OmegaCAM at the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). Hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the Chilean desert, the VST is one of the best telescopes in the world to take large images of the sky in visible light. Even though bright stars populate this image, it's hard to not be captivated by the pink gaseous clouds filling up the frame. Some tiny, others thicker, the filaments stretch outwards like tentacles. As they intertwine and cling together, an intricate network is formed which mixes with blurred clouds. But how did they come to be like this? Around 11 000 years ago, a massive star exploded as a supernova, ejecting its outer layers. The explosion also generated shock waves which traveled outwards, compressing the gas around the star and creating the intricate network visible in the image. The result of such explosions are called supernova remnants. At 800 light years away from Earth, the Vela supernova remnant is one of the closest known to us.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2322a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, None, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Vela Supernova Remnant
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Supernova Remnant
Eso_potw2322a_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 8h 33m 49.5s
DEC = -43° 39’ 4.4”
Orientation
North is 0.4° CCW
Field of View
24.6 x 24.6 arcminutes
Constellation
Vela

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red VST (OmegaCAM) Optical (H-alpha) 659.0 nm
Red VST (OmegaCAM) Optical (i) 770.0 nm
Green VST (OmegaCAM) Optical (r) 625.0 nm
Blue VST (OmegaCAM) Optical (g) 480.0 nm
Purple VST (OmegaCAM) Optical (u) 350.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Red
Green
Blue
Purple
Eso_potw2322a_1280
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ID
potw2322a
Subject Category
B.4.1.4  
Subject Name
Vela Supernova Remnant
Credits
ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgement: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
Release Date
2023-05-29T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2322a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
VLT Survey Telescope, VLT Survey Telescope, VLT Survey Telescope, VLT Survey Telescope, VLT Survey Telescope
Instrument
OmegaCAM, OmegaCAM, OmegaCAM, OmegaCAM, OmegaCAM
Color Assignment
Red, Red, Green, Blue, Purple
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
H-alpha, i, r, g, u
Central Wavelength
659, 770, 625, 480, 350
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
128.456343117, -43.6512138528
Reference Dimension
6697.0, 6698.0
Reference Pixel
3349.0, 3348.5
Scale
-6.12665290685e-05, 6.12991327099e-05
Rotation
0.42226377423114
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
https://www.eso.org
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
None
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
potw2322a
Metadata Date
2023-10-11T09:17:06.897361
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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