Credit: NASA/CXC/UCSC/L. Lopez et al.

A new study of images from Chandra shows that the symmetry of the supernova remnants, or lack thereof, reveals how the star exploded. G292.0+1.8 (left) represents a type of supernova where a massive star collapses on itself. The shape of this type of remnant is relatively asymmetric. The Kepler supernova remnant (right) is from a family of supernovas produced by a thermonuclear explosion on a white dwarf. Kepler and other remnants like it are more symmetrical in shape than G292 and its brethren.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/typingsnrs/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

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