Kelly Lepo (@kellylepo@astrodon.social)

In this new #JWST NIRCam image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), we see the remains of a star that first imploded and then exploded about 340 years ago (from our point of view), leaving behind a tangle of gas, dust, and magnetic fields.

A #thread with some details of what we are seeing in the image.
1/

Read more: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-149

#astronomy #space #SupernovaRemnant

Cassiopeia A, a circular-shaped cloud of gas and dust with complex structure. The inner shell is made of bright pink and orange filaments studded with clumps and knots that look like tiny pieces of shattered glass. Around the exterior of the inner shell, particularly at the upper right, there are curtains of wispy gas that look like campfire smoke. The white smoke-like material also appears to fill the cavity of the inner shell, featuring structures shaped like large bubbles. Around and within the nebula, there are various stars seen as points of blue and white light. Outside the nebula, there are also clumps of yellow dust, with a particularly large clump at the bottom right corner that appears to have very detailed striations.

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original