The remains of a stellar explosion, 13,000 lightyears away

Tycho as you’ve never seen it before: the remnant of a supernova 13,000 lightyears away in the constellation Cassiopeia.

The lumpy appearance revealed in this image may be the star’s explosive death itself or possibly an after effect.

One theory is that the lumps are the result of an explosion with multiple ignition points – like millions of dynamite sticks igniting simultaneously.

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• Observatories Chandra X-ray Observatory, Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• Release date 17 October 2019
• Image credit X-ray: NASA/CXC/RIKEN & GSFC/T. Sato et al; Optical: DSS