Ghostly Stellar Tendrils of the Vela Supernova Remnant
This colorful web of wispy gas filaments is the Vela Supernova Remnant, an expanding nebula of cosmic debris left over from a massive star that exploded about 11,000 years ago. This image was taken with the Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam), mounted on the US National Science Foundation's Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. The striking reds, yellows, and blues in this image were achieved through the use of three DECam filters that each collect a specific color of light. Separate images were taken in each filter and then stacked on top of each other to produce this high-resolution image that contains 1.3 gigapixels and showcases the intricate web-like filaments snaking throughout the expanding cloud of gas.
Credit:CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)
About the Image
Id: | noirlab2406a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | March 12, 2024, 8 a.m. |
Related releases: | noirlab2406 |
Size: | 35786 x 35881 px |
About the Object
Image Formats
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 8 31 19.09 |
Position (Dec): | -43° 55' 45.53" |
Field of view: | 161.11 x 161.53 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 0.1° left of vertical |
Colors & filters
Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
---|---|---|
Optical OIII | 501 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
Optical S II | 673 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
Optical H-alpha + NII | 662 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |