Dusty Celestial Ornaments Dusty Celestial Ornament: Supernova Cassiopeian A in Infrared

Ssc2007-20a2_sm
spitzer_ssc2007-20a2 December 20, 2007

Creator: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1719-ssc2007-20a2-Supernova-Remnant-Cassiopeia-A-Argon-Gas

Cassiopeia A, is a supernova remnant is located about 10,000 light-years away in our own Milky Way galaxy.

This infrared view shows argon gas (green) that was synthesized as it was ejected from the star.

The data for this image was taken by Spitzer's infrared spectrograph, which splits light apart to reveal the fingerprints of molecules and elements. In total, Spitzer collected separate "spectra" at more than 1,700 positions across Cassiopeia A.

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Cassiopeia A Cas A
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula » Type » Supernova Remnant

Distance

Universescale1
11,000 light years

Position Details

Ssc2007-20a2_sm
Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 23m 25.7s
DEC = 58° 49’ 12.9”
Orientation
North is 0.2° CCW
Field of View
8.0 x 8.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Cassiopeia

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Arrow_left_green Spitzer (IRS) Infrared (Mid-IR) 7.0 µm
Image constructed from specific wavelengths extracted from 1,700 IRS spectra
Spectrum_base
Arrow_top_green