Cassiopeia A is a supernova leftover . From our point of aspect , 340 age ago , a monumental star collapsed in on itself and call on into a supernova , cast aside material out into the cosmos . This fabric has expanded greatly in the last three century and a one-half , the expansion shield moving at thousands of kilometers per second and at a temperature of tens of jillion of degree .
It is the youngest hump prima remnant . New observation fromJWSTin the mid - infrared range show the various structures at an unprecedented point of detail , reveal structures that were not thought to be there and for which astronomers have not got a ready explanation .
“ Cas A represents our best chance to look at the debris field of an exploded star and melt down a kind of stellar autopsy to understand what type of asterisk was there beforehand and how that star exploded , ” principal detective of this JWST programme Danny Milisavljevic of Purdue University said in astatement .
The full image of Cassiopeia A by JWST. NASA, ESA, CSA, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Tea Temim (Princeton University), Ilse De Looze (UGent) Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
“ Compared to previous infrared image , we see unbelievable particular that we have n’t been able to access before , ” total Tea Temim of Princeton University , who is a co - tec on the program .
Some of the emission seen by the scope is from strong dust , made seeable in infrared in orangeness and red . This is recover in particular at the sharpness of the bubble , which is expand in the interstellar medium . There are wisp of star material in pink , stretch throughout the remnant , a mix of heavier elements like atomic number 8 , Ne , and argon as well as more rubble . Then there is the green loop-the-loop in the middle . That ’s the perplex bit .
“ We ’ve nicknamed it the Green Monster in accolade of Fenway Park in Boston . If you look closely , you ’ll notice that it ’s pockmark with what look like miniskirt - bubbles , ” said Milisavljevic . “ The contour and complexity are unexpected and take exception to understand . ”
Supernovae pollute the interstellar sensitive with big elements , but it ’s good pollution . It ’s what terminate up making planets and all life on Earth . The famous quote " We are made of stardust " is about this stardust unfold about supernova .
Studying objects such as this inform us how the debris is fan out . It inform us on how the edifice blocks of the solar organisation came to be , but also tells us how the pristine flatulency of early galaxies made of hydrogen and helium come to contain all the remaining component that make us us .
“ By understanding the process of explode stars , we ’re reading our own origin story , ” said Milisavljevic . “ I ’m going to spend the rest of my career trying to understand what ’s in this data solidifying . ”
Having expanded for so many decade , the remnant now spans about 10 swooning - class . Cassiopeia Ais locate 11,000 light - years away .
