DECam Images RCW 86, Remains of Supernova Witnessed in 185
The tattered shell of the first-ever recorded supernova was captured by the US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, which is mounted on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. A ring of glowing debris is all that remains of a white dwarf star that exploded more than 1800 years ago when it was recorded by Chinese astronomers as a ‘guest star’. This special image, which covers an impressive 45 arcminutes on the sky, gives a rare view of the entirety of this supernova remnant.
Credit:CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)
About the Image
Id: | noirlab2307a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | March 1, 2023, 11 a.m. |
Related releases: | noirlab2307 |
Size: | 13546 x 10647 px |
About the Object
Image Formats
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 14 42 59.76 |
Position (Dec): | -62° 34' 9.52" |
Field of view: | 60.96 x 47.91 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 90.0° left of vertical |
Colors & filters
Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
---|---|---|
Optical g | 473 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
Optical g | 473 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
Optical i | 784 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
Optical i | 784 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
Infrared N662 | 662 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |