NASA's Chandra Captures Stunning X-ray Image of Supernova Remnant

The supernova remnant, SN 1006, was once one of the brightest objects visible in the sky. When it first appeared on May 1, 1006, it was brighter than Venus and visible during the daytime for weeks. Ancient astronomers recorded the phenomenon in documents that are now available to us today. Now, a new image of this remnant from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed the supernova in exquisite detail.

A supernova remnant is the aftermath of an exploding star, known as a supernova. When stars age, they eventually explode outward, causing a burst of radiation that can outshine an entire galaxy before fading from view. During the explosion, the supernova expels much of the star's material at furious speeds, driving a shock wave into the surrounding interstellar medium. This shock wave, in turn, sweeps up an expanding shell of gas and dust which forms a supernova remnant.

Currently, knots of material are moving away from the original explosion, some speeding at almost 11 million miles per other. Located about 7,000 light years from Earth, SN 1006 is impressive to behold.

Although this particular supernova remnant was first observed over a thousand years ago, it was only in the 1960s that scientists were able to observe it in wavelengths that are blocked from the ground, including X-rays. The latest image is a patchwork of data with low, medium and higher-energy X-rays colored red, green and blue, respectively.

The image isn't just for looks, though. It reveals new information about the nature of SN 1006, which is a remnant of a Type Ia supernova. This class of supernova is caused when a white dwarf pulls too much mass from a companion star and eventually explodes, or when two white dwarfs merge and explode. In fact, researchers can now potentially piece together how the star looked before its demise.

The recent findings were presented at a meeting of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society.