Sep 17, 2024
NGC 2736: remnants of an exploded star ©
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from Norway
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Bosnia & Herzegovina
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
NGC 2736: remnants of an exploded star ©
The Pencil Nebula, NGC 2736 // Michele Bayliss
NGC 2736 - Pencil Nebula
Vela Supernova Remnant Mosaic
The plane of our Milky Way Galaxy runs through this complex and beautiful skyscape. Seen toward colorful stars near the northwestern edge of the constellation Vela (the Sails), the 16 degree wide, 200 frame mosaic is centered on the glowing filaments of the Vela Supernova Remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star. Light from the supernova explosion that created the Vela remnant reached Earth about 11,000 years ago. In addition to the shocked filaments of glowing gas, the cosmic catastrophe also left behind an incredibly dense, rotating stellar core, the Vela Pulsar. Some 800 light-years distant, the Vela remnant is likely embedded in a larger and older supernova remnant, the Gum Nebula. Objects identified in this broad mosaic include emission and reflection nebulae, star clusters, and the remarkable Pencil Nebula. Credit: Robert Gendler, Roberto Colombari, Digitized Sky Survey (POSS II)
Moviéndose hacia la parte inferior de esta atractiva composición , los filamentos delgados y trenzados son en realidad ondas largas de una hoja de gas brillante que se ve casi de lado. Catalogada como NGC 2736 , su aspecto estrecho sugiere el nombre popular de la nebulosa del Lápiz . Esta onda de choque se abre camino a través del espacio a más de 500.000 kilómetros por hora.
Con una longitud de unos 5 años luz y a una distancia de unos 800 años luz, la nebulosa del Lápiz es tan solo una pequeña parte del remanente de la supernova Vela . El remanente de Vela propiamente dicho tiene unos 100 años luz de diámetro y es la nube de restos en expansión de una estrella que explotó hace unos 11.000 años. Inicialmente, la onda de choque se movía a millones de kilómetros por hora, pero al barrer el gas interestelar circundante ha desacelerado considerablemente .
The Pencil Nebula, NGC 2736 // Kartik Atre
The Pencil Nebula, NGC 2736 // bbonic
The Pencil Nebula, NGC 2736 // Lucas Di Pentima