Here’s a cool photograph of supernova remnant N132D. It’s actually a composite image, made up of pictures gathered by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The remnant is located approximately 163,000 light-years away in the neighbouring galaxy: the Large Magellanic Cloud.
An interesting discovery in this research is that one of life’s building blocks, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), seem to survive the supernova explosion. These carbon and hydrogen compounds are true space survivors; they’re found in comets, in star-forming regions and planetary disks, and now… in supernovae.
Original Source: Chandra News Release
Recent Posts
Quantum Correlations Could Solve the Black Hole Information Paradox
The black hole information paradox has puzzled physicists for decades. New research shows how quantum…
M87 Releases a Rare and Powerful Outburts of Gamma-ray Radiation
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration made history when it released the first-ever…
Astronomers Find a Black Hole Tipped Over on its Side
Almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole churning away at its core. In…
NASA is Developing Solutions for Lunar Housekeeping’s Biggest Problem: Dust!
Through the Artemis Program, NASA will send the first astronauts to the Moon since the…
Where’s the Most Promising Place to Find Martian Life?
New research suggests that our best hopes for finding existing life on Mars isn’t on…
Can Entangled Particles Communicate Faster than Light?
Entanglement is perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of quantum mechanics. On its surface,…