NASA unveils improved version of Hubble’s Veil Nebula image, showing delicate wires and gas filaments of the dead giant star, 2,100 light-years from Earth
- Hubble first took a snapshot of the gaseous remnants of stars that exploded in 2015, called The Veil Nebula
- New imaging techniques provide details about delicate threads and gas filaments that have never been seen
- Hydrogen and ionized nitrogen can be seen in red, and double ionized oxygen in blue
- Before the star exploded 10,000 years ago, it was 20 times larger than our sun
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NASA has released an improved image of the Veil Nebula, which provides more details about the ionized gas filaments that give it its name.
The Hubble Space Telescope initially captured photos of the Veil, the remains of a massive star that detonated more than 10,000 years ago in 2015.
Located about 2,100 light-years from Earth, the remains are one of the best-known remnants of a supernova.
Using new processing techniques, hydrogen and ionized nitrogen can be observed in red, while double ionized oxygen appears in blue.
The nebula continues to expand, at about 932,000 miles per hour, and NASA says that studying its composition can help us better understand the structure and how it interacts with the supernova shock wave.
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An improved image of the Veil Nebula shows finer details of the delicate wires and filaments of ionized gas left over from a massive star that exploded more than 10,000 years ago. The image, originally made by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015, has been treated with new processing techniques
The Veil Nebula is the visible portion of the Cygnus loop, the remnants of a star about 20 times the size of our sun that became a supernova between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago.
A nebula is a cloud of ionized gas and dust that forms when a star detonates.
At about 110 light-years wide, the Veil is about 2,100 light-years from Earth, “a relatively close neighbor in astronomical terms,” according to NASA.
It is one of the best-known supernova remnants, named after “delicate, draped filament structures,” according to the space agency.
New processing techniques applied to the 2015 photo (right) provide more details about hydrogen and ionized nitrogen, seen in red, and double ionized oxygen, seen in blue
“The fast-moving explosion wave from the ancient explosion throws into a wall of cold and denser interstellar gas, which emits light.”
“The nebula is along the edge of a large, low-density gas bubble that was blown into space by the dying star before it self-detonated.”
In 2015, NASA shared for the first time a photograph of the Veil, which was taken using Hubble’s large camera 3, along with five different filters.
Six snapshots were merged to form a single image.
This month, NASA released a revamped version of that 2015 image using new technology to improve the details.
In the updated version, “new processing techniques have been applied, bringing fine details of the delicate threads and ionized gas filaments of the nebula,” the space agency said.
The new image provides more details about double ionized oxygen, seen in blue, and hydrogen and ionized nitrogen, seen in red.
Because the nebula is still expanding, NASA said, “studying these filaments and their compositions can help us better understand the structure of the cloud and how the supernova shock wave interacts with it.”
Comparing the images of the Veil Nebula made by the Hubble Space Telescope (pictured) in 1997 and 2015, astronomers calculated that it was expanding at a rate of 932,000 miles per hour.
Comparing the images of the Veil Nebula taken in 1997 with snapshots from 2015, for example, astronomers have calculated that the Veil is expanding at a rate of 932,000 miles per hour.
First identified in 1784 by British astronomer William Herschel, the Veil Nebula can be seen by amateur astronomers when conditions are optimal, according to NASA.
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990, aboard the Discovery shuttle.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope in partnership with the European Space Agency.
Expected to be launched in October 2021, the James Webb space telescope will offer an even higher resolution and sensitivity in infrared than Hubble.
It is a collaboration between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency.