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Discovery of an Old, Nearby, and Overlooked Supernova Remnant
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This remnant is the first seen in high-energy gamma-rays (white contours), which are the signatures of radioactive aluminum created in supernovae. The yellow +'s mark the path of a nearby pulsar, which is now located in the upper right, but is moving away from the supernova remnant, and about 2 million years ago "hit the bullseye" of the remant and its radioactive ejecta, suggesting a common origin. The "best-guess" vital statistics of the object are that it originated in a supernova explosion about 2 million years ago, at a distance of about 300 light years. This is the closest known supernova remnant, which our ancestors would have seen shining nearly as bright as the full moon. Reference: McCullough, P.R., Fields, B. D. & Pavlidou, V. 2002, ApJ, 576, L41 |