Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2019 November 21

                        Simeis 147: Supernova Remnant
                  Image Credit & Copyright: David Lindemann

   Explanation: It's easy to get lost following the intricate looping
   filaments in this detailed image of supernova remnant Simeis 147. Also
   cataloged as Sharpless 2-240 it goes by the popular nickname, the
   Spaghetti Nebula. Seen toward the boundary of the constellations Taurus
   and Auriga, 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. This composite includes image data taken
   through narrow-band filters where reddish emission from ionized
   hydrogen atoms and doubly ionized oxygen atoms in faint blue-green hues
   trace 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.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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