News Release Archive:

News Release 485 of 948

June 5, 2003 09:00 AM (EDT)

News Release Number: STScI-2003-16

Supernova Shock Wave Paints Cosmic Portrait

A Hubble Heritage Release


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Q & A: Understanding the Discovery

  1. 1. What does the photo show?

  2. The photo shows the edge of the undulating sheet of gas. In this view, astronomers see large, wispy filamentary structures, smaller bright knots of gas, and patches of diffuse gas. The nebula's luminous appearance comes from dense gas regions that have been struck by the supernova shock wave. As the shock wave travels through space [from right to left in the image], it rams into interstellar material. Initially the gas is heated to millions of degrees, but then subsequently cools down, emitting the optical light visible in the image.

  3. 2. What do the colors of the nebula mean?

  4. The colors show the temperature of the various gases that make up the nebula. The gases are cooling down. Some regions, though, are still very hot. They are dominated by ionized oxygen atoms, which glow blue in the picture. The red regions (dominated by cooler hydrogen atoms) are cooler areas of gas.

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Acknowledgment: W. Blair (JHU) and D. Malin (David Malin Images)