Cassiopeia A Rumbles

Spitzer_ssc2005-14b1_1024

spitzer_ssc2005-14b1 June 9th, 2005

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/O. Krause (Steward Observatory)

This Spitzer Space Telescope composite shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (white ball) and surrounding clouds of dust (gray, orange and blue). It consists of two processed images taken one year apart. Dust features that have not changed over time appear gray, while those that have changed are colored blue or orange. Blue represents an earlier time and orange, a later time.

These observations illustrate that a blast of light from Cassiopeia A is waltzing outward through the dusty skies. This dance, called an "infrared echo," began when the remnant erupted about 50 years ago.

Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violent supernova explosion seen on Earth 325 years ago. It consists of a dead star, called a neutron star, and a surrounding shell of material that was blasted off as the star died. This remnant is located 10,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia.

An infrared echo is created when a star explodes or erupts, flashing light into surrounding clumps of dust. As the light zips through the dust clumps, it heats them up, causing them to glow successively in infrared, like a chain of Christmas bulbs lighting up one by one. The result is an optical illusion, in which the dust appears to be flying outward at the speed of light. This apparent motion can be seen here by the shift in colored dust clumps.

Echoes are distinct from supernova shockwaves, which are made up material that is swept up and hurled outward by exploding stars.

This infrared echo is the largest ever seen, stretching more than 50 light-years away from Cassiopeia A. If viewed from Earth, the entire movie frame would take up the same amount of space as two full moons.

Hints of an older infrared echo from Cassiopeia A's supernova explosion hundreds of years ago can also be seen.

The earlier Spitzer image was taken on November 30, 2003, and the later, on December 2, 2004.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1443-ssc2005-14b1-Cassiopeia-A-Rumbles

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Cassiopeia A Cas A
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Supernova Remnant
Nebula > Appearance > Reflection > Light Echo

Distance

Universescale1
11,000 light years
Spitzer_ssc2005-14b1_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 23m 29.7s
DEC = 58° 46’ 43.8”
Orientation
North is 86.0° CCW
Constellation
Cassiopeia

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Cyan Spitzer (MIPS) Infrared (Mid-IR) 24.0 µm
Red Spitzer (MIPS) Infrared (Mid-IR) 24.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Cyan
Red
Spitzer_ssc2005-14b1_1280
×
ID
ssc2005-14b1
Subject Category
B.4.1.4.   B.4.2.2.1.  
Subject Name
Cassiopeia A, Cas A
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/O. Krause (Steward Observatory)
Release Date
2005-06-09
Lightyears
11,000
Redshift
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1443-ssc2005-14b1-Cassiopeia-A-Rumbles
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance taken from Fast Facts.
Facility
Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
MIPS, MIPS
Color Assignment
Cyan, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
24000, 24000
Start Time
2003-11-30, 2004-12-02
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
350.87372287283733, 58.7788251850606
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
1360.5, 354.5
Scale
-0.00034580963370685504, 0.00034580963370685504
Rotation
86.0014076652
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
ssc2005-14b1.tif
Metadata Date
2012-03-22
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
11,000 light years

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