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Chandra/Spitzer composite of N132D
Credit:NASA/SAO/CXC; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Tappe & J. Rho


Shocking Pink

Deaths stir things up, a saying that's especially true for the deaths of stars. The image above is a composite X-ray/infrared image of the supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. N132D is believed to have been produced by the explosion of a star many times more massive than the sun. The infrared image was taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the X-ray image was obtained by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The horseshoe-shaped ring was produced by as the supernovae ejecta plows into the surrounding material in the interstellar medium. The X-rays, in purple, shows the hot gas produced in the outer boundary of the remnant. The infrared emission produced by hot dust is shown in red, green, and blue. The pinkish color shows where the hot, energetic edge of the supernovae is heating and destroying dust and gas molecules in the LMC.


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Each week the HEASARC brings you new, exciting and beautiful images from X-ray and Gamma ray astronomy. Check back each week and be sure to check out the HEAPOW archive!


Page Author: Dr. Michael F. Corcoran
Last modified Monday, 26-Feb-2024 17:46:15 EST




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