Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO
Edge of a Remnant
New images obtained by the Chandra
X-ray Observatory continue to provide astounding new looks at previously
well-studied objects. The supernova remnant N132D is a case in point. This
remnant is about 180,000 light years from Earth in the Large Magellanic
Cloud, and its age is probably about 3000 years. The image above was
obtained by Chandra's High
Resolution Camera (HRC) after a pass through an edge detection
algorithm to highlight sharp detail. The original image
is available at the Chandra web site. The Chandra X-ray image shows a
highly structured shell of 10 million degree gas that is 80 light years
across. The N132D supernova remnant appears to be colliding with a giant
molecular cloud, which produces the brightening on rim of the remnant at
the bottom of the image. The relatively weak X-radiation on the upper left
shows that the shock wave is expanding into a less dense region on the edge
of the molecular cloud. A number of small circular structures are visible
in the central regions and a hint of a large circular loop can be seen in
the upper part of the remnant. The unprecedented spatial detail provided by
the HRC image allows astrophysicists the opportunity to model in detail
the interaction of the supernova ejecta with the circumstellar medium and
study in detail into the formation and distribution of chemical
elements into the galactic neighborhood.
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Page Author: Dr. Michael F.
Corcoran
Last modified February 14, 2000
