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 December 11

                N63A: Supernova Remnant in Visible and X-ray
    Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, Chandra; Processing & License: Judy
                                   Schmidt

   Explanation: What has this supernova left behind? As little as 2,000
   years ago, light from a massive stellar explosion in the Large
   Magellanic Cloud (LMC) first reached planet Earth. The LMC is a close
   galactic neighbor of our Milky Way Galaxy and the rampaging explosion
   front is now seen moving out - destroying or displacing ambient gas
   clouds while leaving behind relatively dense knots of gas and dust.
   What remains is one of the largest supernova remnants in the LMC: N63A.
   Many of the surviving dense knots have been themselves compressed and
   may further contract to form new stars. Some of the resulting stars may
   then explode in a supernova, continuing the cycle. Featured here is a
   combined image of N63A in the X-ray from the Chandra Space Telescope
   and in visible light by Hubble. The prominent knot of gas and dust on
   the upper right -- informally dubbed the Firefox -- is very bright in
   visible light, while the larger supernova remnant shines most brightly
   in X-rays. N63A spans over 25 light years and lies about 150,000 light
   years away toward the southern constellation of Dorado.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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