The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A can be seen in all its beauty. NASA has provided us with many beautiful and fascinating images of our Universe, showing us pictures of stars, galaxies, quasars, supernovas, and other celestial objects, and now we have a detailed new picture about the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A.
The most spectacular thing about Cas A, as it is nicknamed, is that it glows brightly in many types of light, even X-rays, as a result of the shockwaves generated by the blast. The supernova remnant has been one of Chandra observatory’s primary goals since its foundation twenty years ago, back in ’99.
The astronomers from Chandra had been studying Cassiopeia A for years, and a video about observations from 2000 to 2013 has been released. Of course, differences are not too evident because human life is way too short for a celestial body of that size, but it could be fascinating to see how such massive structures evolve. But 13 years is just like a blink of an eye for the Universe.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Snapped the Supernova Remnant of Cassiopeia A
For those who don’t know what a supernova remnant is, it’s basically and colloquially speaking the debris left behind by the explosion of a star. Stars explode when they run out of hydrogen converting into helium, resulting in a supernova, one of the most powerful and bright phenomenons from the Universe. A supernova can be as bright as an entire galaxy.
Of course, you may want to see the supernova remnant for yourself if you don’t trust the reports of NASA, but even if you miraculously find a way to travel 11,000 light-years to the debris, you have no guarantee that it’s still out there and it surely has all the chances to obliterate you.
We can only see it from Earth the way it was when the light left it, literally 11,000 years ago.
