                        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.

                               2025 January 8
   A star field appears that has several nebulas. Toward the upper left is
   a angularly small supernova remnant colored blue, while dominating the
    lower right is a large supernova remnant in both red and blue. Please
             see the explanation for more detailed information.

                      Supernova Remnants Big and Small
          Image Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Vetter (Nuits sacrées)

   Explanation: What happens after a star explodes? A huge fireball of hot
   gas shoots out in all directions. When this gas slams into the existing
   interstellar medium, it heats up so much it glows. Two different
   supernova remnants (SNRs) are visible in the featured image, taken at
   the Oukaïmeden Observatory in Morocco. The blue soccer ball-looking
   nebula toward the upper left is SNR G179.0+02.6, which appears to be
   the smaller one. This supernova, about 11,000 light years distant,
   detonated about 50,000 years ago. Although composed mostly of hydrogen
   gas, the blue light is emitted by a trace amount of oxygen. The
   seemingly larger SNR, dominating the lower right of the frame, is the
   Spaghetti Nebula, cataloged as Simeis 147 and sh2-240. This supernova,
   only about 3,000 light years away, exploded about 40,000 years ago.
   Comparatively, even though they appear different sizes, both supernova
   remnants are not only roughly the same age, but about the same size,
   too.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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