A new video shows changes in Kepler’s Supernova
Remnant using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured over more
than two and a half decades with observations taken in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2014,
and 2025. In this video, which is the longest-spanning one ever released by
Chandra, X-rays (blue) from the telescope have been combined with an optical
image (red, green, and blue) from Pan-STARRS.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Pan-STARRS
A new video shows the evolution of Kepler’s Supernova Remnant using data
from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured over more than two and a half
decades.
Kepler’s Supernova Remnant, named
after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, was first spotted in the night sky
in 1604. Today, astronomers know that a white dwarf star exploded when it
exceeded a critical mass, after pulling material from a companion star, or
merging with another white dwarf. This kind of supernova is known as a Type Ia,
and scientists use it to measure the expansion of the universe.
Supernova remnants, the debris
fields left behind after a stellar explosion, often glow strongly in X-ray
light because the material has been heated to millions of degrees from the
blast. The remnant is located in our galaxy, about 17,000 light-years from
Earth, allowing Chandra to make detailed images of the debris and how it
changes with time. This latest video includes its X-ray data from 2000, 2004, 2006, 2014, and 2025. This
makes it the longest-spanning video that Chandra has ever released, enabled by
Chandra’s longevity.
“The plot of Kepler’s story is just
now beginning to unfold,” said Jessye Gassel, a graduate student at George
Mason University in Virginia, who led the work. “It’s remarkable that we can
watch as these remains from this shattered star crash into material already
thrown out into space.” Gassel presented the new Chandra video and the
associated research at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society
in Phoenix.
The researchers used the video to
show that the fastest parts of the remnant are traveling at about 13.8 million
miles per hour (2% of the speed of light), moving toward the bottom of the
image. Meanwhile, the slowest parts are traveling toward the top at about 4
million miles per hour (0.5% of the speed of light). This large difference in
speed is because the gas that the remnant is plowing into toward the top of the
image is denser than the gas toward the bottom. This gives scientists
information about the environments into which this star exploded.
“Supernova explosions and the
elements they hurl into space are the lifeblood of new stars and planets,” said
Brian Williams of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,
and principal investigator of the new Chandra observations of Kepler.
“Understanding exactly how they behave is crucial to knowing our cosmic
history.”
The team also examined the widths
of the rims forming the blast wave of the explosion. The blast wave is the
leading edge of the explosion and the first to encounter material outside of
the star. By measuring how wide it is and how fast it is traveling, astronomers
glean more information about both the explosion of the star and its
surroundings.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations
from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
To learn more about Chandra, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/chandra
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory
Learn more about the Chandra X-ray
Observatory and its mission here:
Visual Description
This release features a ten second
silent video of Kepler’s expanding Supernova Remnant, located in our own
galaxy, about 17,000 light-years from Earth. The video was created using X-ray
data gathered in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2014, and 2025. Those distinct datasets were
turned into highly-detailed visuals, creating a 25-year timelapse-style video
of the growing remnant.
Kepler’s Supernova Remnant was once
a white dwarf star that exploded when it exceeded its critical mass. Here, in
X-ray light, the remnant resembles a cloudy neon blue ring with a diagonal
cross line stretching from our upper right down to our lower left. The ring
appears thinner and wispier at the bottom, with a band of white arching across
the top.
As the video plays, cycling through
the 5 datasets, the ring subtly, but clearly, expands, like a slowly inflating
balloon. In the video, this sequence is replayed several times with dates
included at our lower right, to give sighted learners time to absorb the visual
information. Upon close inspection, researchers have determined that the bottom
of the remnant is expanding fastest; about 13.8 million miles per hour, or 2%
of the speed of light. The top of the ring appears to be expanding the slowest;
about 4 million miles per hour, or 0.5% of the speed of light. The large
difference in speed is because the gas that the remnant is plowing into towards
the top of the image is denser than the gas towards the bottom.
Collecting and interpreting this data over decades has provided information about the environment into which the white dwarf star exploded, and has helped scientists understand how remnants change with time.
Source: Supernova Remnant Video From NASA's Chandra Is Decades in Making - NASA
