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The Vela supernova remnant is a
supernova remnant
A supernova remnant (SNR) is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar mat ...
in the southern constellation
Vela. Its source
Type II supernova
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...
exploded approximately 11,000–12,300 years ago (and was about 800
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
s away). The association of the Vela supernova remnant with the
Vela pulsar
The Vela Pulsar (PSR J0835-4510 or PSR B0833-45) is a radio, optical, X-ray- and gamma-emitting pulsar associated with the Vela Supernova Remnant in the constellation of Vela. Its parent Type II supernova exploded approximately 11,000â ...
, made by astronomers at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
in 1968, was direct observational evidence that
supernova
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...
e form
neutron star
A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. white ...
s.
The Vela supernova remnant includes
NGC 2736
NGC 2736 (also known as the Pencil Nebula) is a small part of the Vela Supernova Remnant, located near the Vela Pulsar in the constellation Vela (constellation), Vela. The nebula's linear appearance triggered its popular name. It resides about 8 ...
. The Vela supernova remnant overlaps the
Puppis A supernova remnant, which is four times more distant. Both the Puppis and Vela remnants are among the largest and brightest features in the
X-ray sky.
The Vela supernova remnant is one of the closest known to us. The
Geminga
Geminga is a gamma ray and x-ray pulsar source thought to be a neutron star approximately 250 parsecs (around 800 light-years) from the Sun in the constellation Gemini.
Its name, attributed by its discoverer Giovanni Bignami, is both ...
pulsar is closer (and also resulted from a supernova), and in 1998 another
near-Earth supernova
A near-Earth supernova is an explosion resulting from the death of a star that occurs close enough to the Earth (roughly less than 10 to 300 parsecs (30 to 1000 light-years) away) to have noticeable effects on Earth's biosphere.
An estima ...
remnant was discovered,
RX J0852.0-4622, which from our point of view appears to be contained in the southeastern part of the Vela remnant. One estimate of its distance puts it only 200
parsec
The parsec (symbol: pc) is a unit of length used to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System, approximately equal to or (au), i.e. . The parsec unit is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, and ...
s away (about 650
ly), closer than the Vela remnant, and, surprisingly, it seems to have exploded much more recently, in the last thousand years, because it is still radiating gamma rays from the decay of
titanium-44
Naturally occurring titanium (22Ti) is composed of five stable isotopes; 46Ti, 47Ti, 48Ti, 49Ti and 50Ti with 48Ti being the most abundant (73.8% natural abundance). Twenty-one radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 44Ti ...
. This remnant was not seen earlier because when viewed in most wavelengths, it is lost in the Vela remnant.
See also
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CG 4
CG 4, commonly referred to as God's Hand, is a star-forming region located in the Puppis constellation, about from Earth. It is one of several objects referred to as " cometary globules", because its shape is similar to that of a comet. It has a ...
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List of supernova remnants
This is a list of observed supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Milky Way, as well as galaxies nearby enough to resolve individual nebulae, such as the Large Magellanic Cloud, Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda Galaxy.
Supernova remna ...
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List of supernovae
This is a list of supernovae that are of historical significance. These include supernovae that were observed prior to the availability of photography, and individual events that have been the subject of a scientific paper that contributed to supe ...
References
External links
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Gum Nebula (annotated)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vela Supernova Remnant
Gum Nebula
Supernova remnants
Vela (constellation)