Shock waves from a supernova – Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex – Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex – NASA

Supernovae are the explosive deaths of the most massive stars in the universe. Upon death, these objects send powerful waves out into the cosmos, destroying much of the dust that surrounds them. This 2007 composite from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the remnant of such an explosion, known as N132D, and the environment in which it is expanding. In this image, infrared light at 4.5 microns maps to blue, 8.0 microns to green, and 24 microns to red. Meanwhile, broadband X-ray light maps purple. The remnant itself is seen as a faint layer of pink gas in the center of this image. The pink color reveals an interaction between the explosion’s high-energy shock waves (originally purple) and surrounding dust grains. Outside the central remnant, small organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, show up as tints of green. Blue dots represent stars within that are along the line of sight between the observatories and N132D. Original news (in English) Edition: R. Castro.