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Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A – March 2004

Filaments that are colored green, red, and blue form a loose, open circle at the center.
Image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys in March 2004.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    23h 23m 24.0s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    58° 48' 54.0"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Cassiopeia
  • Distance
    DistanceThe 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.
    About 10,000 light-years 3,100 parsecs away.
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    This image is 8.5 arcminutes (25 light-years or 7.7 parsecs) wide. The bright remnant shell has a diameter of about 4 parsecs (13 light-years).

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data 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.
    This image was created from HST data from the following proposals: 9890 and 10286, both by: R. Fesen (Dartmouth College), J. Morse (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), J. Raymond (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), R. Chevalier (University of Virginia), and M. Dopita (Australian National University).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    March, 2004 and December, 2004, Exposure Time: 2.3 days
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F625W (SDSS r), F775W (SDSS i) , and F850LP (SDSS z)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Cassipopeia A
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Supernova Remnant
  • Release Date
    August 29, 2006
  • Science Release
    Cassiopeia A – The Colorful Aftermath of a Violent Stellar Death
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Downloads

  • 10252 × 7379
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  • 800 × 576
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  • 200 × 200
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  • 400 × 288
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  • 1280 × 921
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Filaments that are colored green, red, and blue form a loose, open circle at the center.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using several different filters. Three filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F625W (SDSS r) Green: F775W (SDSS i) Red: F850LP (SDSS z)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Filaments that are colored green, red, and blue form a loose, open circle at the center.

Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A – December 2004

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Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant

Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant

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3D Zoom into Enhanced Image of Cas A

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3-D zoom into an enhanced image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A shows its broken ring of bright filamentary and clumpy stellar ejecta. The various colors of the gaseous shards indicate differences in chemical composition.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 14, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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