Cassiopeia's Ghost
Light from the explosive end of the star Cassiopeia A must have first reached our solar system three centuries ago, although intervening galactic dust is thought to have dimmed earthly views of the fireworks.
Now all that remains of the supernova are wispy remnants seen spanning some ten light-years across space and glimpsed here by NASA's Chandra X-ray Space Observatory.
A unique three-dimensional model of the explosion, which blasted debris across the sky traveling at millions of miles per hour, has been constructed by the space agency for the upcoming Smithsonian X 3D project.
—Dan Vergano
Best New Space Pictures: Distant Stars, Saturn's Bars, and a Trip to Mars
A supernova's ghost, Saturn's unearthly rings, and the next Mars mission's send-off round out the week's best space pictures.