Astronomers using the powerful Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, have constructed a massive 1.3-gigapixel image of the Vela supernova remnant, a remnant of a massive star that exploded nearly 11,000 years ago in the constellation of Vela.
This DECam image shows the Vela supernova remnant, a remnant of supernova explosion located 800 light-years away in the southern constellation of Vela. Image credit: CTIO / NOIRLab / DOE / NSF / AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani & D. de Martin, NSF’s NOIRLab.
The Vela supernova remnant, Vela SNR for short, is one of the best studied supernova remnants in the sky and one of the nearest to Earth.
Its progenitor star exploded between 11,000 and 12,300 years ago in the southern constellation of Vela.
The association of this supernova remnant with the Vela pulsar, made by Australian astronomers in 1968, was the direct observational evidence that supernovae form neutron stars.
“When the star exploded 11,000 years ago, its outer layers were violently stripped away and flung into the surrounding region, driving the shockwave that is still visible today,” the astronomers said in a statement.
“As the shockwave expands into the surrounding region, the hot, energized gas flies away from the point of detonation, compressing and interacting with the interstellar medium to produce the stringy blue and yellow filaments seen in the image.”
“Vela SNR is a gigantic structure, spanning almost 100 light-years and extending to twenty times the diameter of the full Moon in the night sky.”
“Despite the dramatics of the star’s final moments, it wasn’t entirely wiped from existence.”
“After shedding its outer layers, the core of the star collapsed into a neutron star — an ultra-dense ball consisting of protons and electrons that have been smashed together to form neutrons.”
“The neutron star, named the Vela pulsar, is now an ultra-condensed object with the mass of a star like the Sun contained in a sphere just a few kilometers across.”
“Located in the lower left region of this image, the Vela pulsar is a relatively dim star that is indistinguishable from its thousands of celestial neighbors.”
The new image of Vela SNR is the largest DECam image ever released publicly, containing an astounding 1.3 gigapixels.
“The striking reds, yellows, and blues in this image were achieved through the use of three DECam filters that each collects a specific color of light,” the researchers said.
“Separate images were taken in each filter and then stacked on top of each other to produce this high-resolution color image that showcases the intricate web-like filaments snaking throughout the expanding cloud of gas.”
