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Probing the Tattered Remains of Supernova Remnant N132D
The wispy, glowing, magenta structures in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image are the remains of a star 10 to 15 times the mass of the Sun that we would have seen exploding as a supernova 3,000 years ago. The remnant's fast-moving gas is plowing into the surrounding gas of the galaxy, creating a supersonic shock wave in the surrounding medium and making the material glow.
The Hubble visible-light image reveals, deep within the remnant, a crescent-shaped cloud of pink emission from hydrogen gas and soft purple wisps that correspond to regions of glowing oxygen. A dense background of colorful stars is also visible.
Probing this tattered gaseous relic, the newly installed Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope detected pristine gas ejected by the doomed star that has not yet mixed with the gas in the interstellar medium. The supernova remnant, called N132D, resides in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small companion galaxy of the Milky Way located 170,000 light-years away. The resulting spectrum, taken in ultraviolet light, shows glowing oxygen and carbon in the remnant.
These results allow astronomers to better understand why some stars form an abundance of certain elements, like oxygen, but not others.
Ultraviolet light is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere, so the observation of N132D in the ultraviolet requires the use of the space-borne Hubble telescope. The broadest range of spectral signatures of the glowing gas appear in the ultraviolet, allowing astronomers to determine the quantities, or abundances, of key elements such as oxygen, as well as elements whose abundances cannot be traced from visible-light images, including carbon, magnesium, and silicon.
Previous ultraviolet instruments on Hubble were not sensitive enough to distinguish between the unmixed ejecta and the "shocked" gas of the surrounding interstellar medium.
Supernova remnants provide a rare opportunity to search for the material hidden deep inside a star. This in turn yields information on how stars evolve and how they manufacture chemicals in their interiors. Supernova explosions also enrich the interstellar medium with new chemical elements, which are incorporated into future generations of stars.
The COS observations were made on August 10, 2009. COS was installed by NASA astronauts in May 2009, during the servicing mission to upgrade and repair the 19-year-old Hubble telescope.
The visible-light image was taken on August 2, 2009, with Hubble's new Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). A filter that isolates emission from sulfur was combined with archival data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The ACS data include color filters that sample starlight in the blue, green, and red portions of the spectrum, as well as the pink emission from glowing hydrogen gas.
These Hubble observations of N132D are part of the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 Early Release Observations.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.05h 25m 1.4s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-69° 38' 31.0"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Dorado
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.170,000 light-years (52,000 parsecs)
- DimensionsDimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.The image (inset) is 3 arcminutes (150 light-years or 46 parsecs) wide.
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.The Hubble images/spectrum were created from data from proposal 11503: K. Noll (STScI) and J. Green, C. Froning, and K. France (University of Colorado, Boulder); and proposal 12001: J. Green (University of Colorado, Boulder). Acknowledgments for N132D Observers: K. Noll (STScI) and J. Green, C. Froning, and K. France (University of Colorado, Boulder) Data Analysis: J. Anderson and M. Mutchler (STScI), and C. Froning and J. Green (University of Colorado, Boulder) Image Composition: Z. Levay and L. Frattare (STScI) Text: L. Frattare, D. Weaver, and R. Villard (STScI) Illustrations: A. Feild and Z. Levay (STScI) Video Animation: G. Bacon (STScI) Science Consultants: M. Livio (STScI) and C. Froning and J. Green (University of Colorado, Boulder) - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>COS/FUV and HST>COS/NUV (spectrum), and HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/UVIS (inset)
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.January 21-22, 2004 (ACS) and August 2, 2009 (WFC3), and August 10, 2009 (COS spectra)
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.ACS: F673N WFC3: F475W (g), F550M (y) F658N (H-alpha + [N II]), and F850LP (z) COS spectra: G130M (130nm) and G160M (160 nm)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.LMC N132D, SNR J052501-693842
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Supernova Remnant
- Release DateSeptember 9, 2009
- Science ReleaseHubble Opens New Eyes on the Universe
- Credit
The image (inset) is a composite of separate exposures made by the WFC3 and ACS instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Five filters were used to sample broad and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Pink: F850LP (z) Orange: F658N (H-alpha + [N II]) White: F673N ([S II]) Green: F550M (y) Blue: F475W (g)
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
