大大小小的超新星遗迹
(原标题: Supernova Remnants Big and Small)
2025-01-08
浏览次数: 10
恒星爆炸后会发生什么？一个巨大的热气火球向四面八方喷射。当这种气体撞击现有的星际介质时，它会被加热到发光。在摩洛哥Oukaïmeden天文台拍摄的特色图像中可以看到两种不同的超新星遗迹（SNRs）。左上角的蓝色足球状星云的信噪比为G179.0+02.6，看起来是较小的一个。这颗超新星距离地球11000光年远，在大约5万年前爆炸。虽然蓝光主要由氢气组成，但也有微量的氧气发出。画面右下方看起来更大的信噪比是意大利面星云，编号为西梅斯147和sh2-240。这颗超新星距离我们只有3000光年，大约在4万年前爆炸。相比之下，尽管它们看起来大小不同，但这两颗超新星的残骸不仅年龄大致相同，而且大小也大致相同。
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What happens after a star explodes? A huge fireball of hot gas shoots out in all directions. When this gas slams into the existing interstellar medium, it heats up so much it glows. Two different supernova remnants (SNRs) are visible in the featured image, taken at the Oukaïmeden Observatory in Morocco. The blue soccer ball-looking nebula toward the upper left is SNR G179.0+02.6, which appears to be the smaller one. This supernova, about 11,000 light years distant, detonated about 50,000 years ago. Although composed mostly of hydrogen gas, the blue light is emitted by a trace amount of oxygen. The seemingly larger SNR, dominating the lower right of the frame, is the Spaghetti Nebula, cataloged as Simeis 147 and sh2-240. This supernova, only about 3,000 light years away, exploded about 40,000 years ago. Comparatively, even though they appear different sizes, both supernova remnants are not only roughly the same age, but about the same size, too.
© Stéphane Vetter (Nuits sacrées)