Sunday, October 21, 2012

The Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant

The Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant
Click on the image for full resolution (10.4 MB)

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. It shows faint filaments that are part of a large supernova remnant called the Cygnus Loop. It is located about 1,500 light-years from Earth. These filaments are the remains of a star that exploded 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. The image was generated with observations in the Oxygen [OIII] (blue), Sulphur [S II] (green) and Hydrogen-Alpha (orange) filters. In this image, North is down, East is right.
The full resolution image weighs 10.4 MB, so please be patient when downloading!
Image Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF)
Image enhancement: Jean-Baptiste Faure

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