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PIA17844: Evolution of a Supernova
 Mission:  Chandra X-ray Observatory
NuSTAR
 Instrument:  Chandra X-ray Telescope
NuSTAR
 Product Size:  3000 x 2000 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA17844.tif (18.01 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA17844.jpg (344.8 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

These illustrations show the progression of a supernova blast. A massive star (left), which has created elements as heavy as iron in its interior, blows up in a tremendous explosion (middle), scattering its outer layers in a structure called a supernova remnant (right). The supernova explosion itself also creates many elements, including those heavier than iron, such as gold. New observations from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, are filling in the missing pieces in the puzzle of how massive stars explode.

The image on the left can be found at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2012/casa/more.html.

The middle image is at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/sn2006gy/index.html.

The image on the right, which contains data from NASA's NuSTAR and Chandra X-ray Observatory, can be seen at http://www.nasa.gov/nustar and http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/.

Image Credit:
NASA/CXC/SAO/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2014-02-19