Supernova's Speeding Bullet
When a dying star exploded, it shot out a "bullet" of matter that's speeding away at about five million miles (eight million kilometers) an hour, as seen in a new picture of the supernova remnant N49.
The image, released Monday, combines visible-light data from the Hubble Space Telescope (yellow) and x-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue). Rich in silicon, sulfur, and neon, the bullet appears to be traveling away from a bright source of light near the top of the remnant, which astronomers say might be the neutron star left over after the massive star collapsed and exploded.
Space Photos This Week: Space Shuttle, Supernova, More
Atlantis crosses the sun, a supernova shoots an odd "bullet," a moon rock makes a hole in one, and more in the week's best space pictures.
