This
composite image shows supernova N132D and its surrounding environment.
A supernova results from the death of
one of the most massive stars in the universe. As it collapses upon itself,
this object blasts powerful waves into the cosmos, destroying much of the dust
surrounding it.
This image
made by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra
X-ray Observatory shows the remnant of such an explosion. In this image,
infrared light at 4.5 microns is mapped to blue, 8.0 microns to green, and 24
microns to red. Broadband X-ray light is mapped purple. The remnant
itself is visible as a wispy pink shell of gas (center). The pinkish color
reveals an interaction between the explosion's high-energy shockwaves
(originally purple) and surrounding dust grains.
Outside the central remnant, small organic molecules called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are shown as tints of green. The blue dots represent stars within that lie between the observatories and N132D.
N132D is
the remnant of an exploded star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a companion
galaxy to the Milky Way, 160,000 light years from Earth.
-- NASA and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC;
Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Tappe & J. Rho
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