Psychedelic Supernova
The messy remnants of a star's death, a supernova, surges into space in this image released September 10. Located about 7,000 light-years away from Earth, the initial explosion of the star would have been seen from our planet about 3,700 years ago.
Pictures from both the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the XMM-Newton combine to form the most detailed view of this particular supernova yet, seen in the view above. Low-energy x-rays glow in red, medium-energy ones are green, and high-energy x-rays are blue. (See "Scientists Find Remnants of One of Universe's Oldest Stars—And It's Huge.")
—Photo Gallery by Nicole Werbeck, Text by Jane J. Lee
Week's Best Space Pictures: Moons Ravaged, Auroras Revel, and Astronauts Return
Saturn's gravity pillages moonlets, a solar storm births auroras, and space explorers come home in the week's best space pictures.
