NASA has chosen an astronomical image of the day that reveals an extraordinary scene in the constellation Auriga, showing the remains of five ancient stellar explosions within a single area of the sky.
The image was captured by astrophotographers Stefan Vetter and Jan Santee from the Oukaimeden Observatory in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, after about 200 hours of observation, revealing an area roughly equivalent to that of a thousand full moons lined up side by side.
NASA highlighted it in an annotated image, along with the open star cluster M37 and the Tadpole Nebula.
Five ghosts in one scene
From left to right, the remains of five supernovae are shown, but the most famous is G180.0, also known as the Spaghetti Nebula, due to its tangled filaments of gas that stretch across the sky. Supernova remnants databases confirm that all five objects are listed as independent remnants in our galaxy.
When a star explodes at the end of its life, the blast wave propels its matter into space, forming a shell of colliding gas within which fine thread-like structures appear.
In the image, these structures appear in red as a result of hydrogen emissions, while oxygen appears in blue, giving the remains their striking ghostly appearance.
Scientific studies reveal that these remnants differ in their characteristics and stages of development. For example, studies indicate that the G181 nebula is a relatively advanced remnant, with a shell extending to about 16 parsecs, and its estimated age may reach about 16,000 years.
The G179 nebula is a faint remnant with a broad shell and an apparent diameter of about 70 arcminutes.
Mountains, about 50 kilometers south of Marrakech, and is managed by Cadi Ayyad University. The site benefits from its elevation and location in a semi-desert region, with skies ideal for astronomical observation, and houses facilities and telescopes used for scientific research and observing celestial objects.
The observatory is designated “J43” by the International Astronomical Union and is home to the Oukaimeden Sky Survey (MOSS) program, which is involved in observing small objects in the solar system, along with other projects and observatories operating on site to observe exoplanets.
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