Copyright:
Brian Meyers
中文翻譯:
在很久很久以前，有一顆星星發生了一次大的爆炸，這讓夜空中出現了一道特別的光！現在我們知道，這其實是一顆超新星的光芒，也就是一顆爆炸的星星。這道光的遺跡被叫做「面紗星雲」，它的其中一部分叫做 NGC 6960，不過大家也喜歡叫它「女巫的掃帚星雲」。在這場大爆炸中，星際空間中的物質被衝擊波驅動並發出光彩。這幅圖片裡的紅色代表了氫氣，而藍綠色則是氧氣，這些發光的長絲就像水面上的漣漪，非常美麗！整個超新星的殘骸大約在距離地球1400光年的地方，朝著天鵝座的方向。這個女巫的掃帚星雲大約有35光年那麼長。而那顆亮亮的星星是52 Cygni，從黑暗的地方看，是能用肉眼看到的，但是它和這顆古老的超新星沒有關係。
原文:
Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star, and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant. This sharp telescopic view is centered on a western segment of the Veil Nebula cataloged as NGC 6960 but less formally known as the Witch’s Broom Nebula. Blasted out in the cataclysmic explosion, an interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up and exciting interstellar material. Imaged with narrow band filters, the glowing filaments are like long ripples in a sheet seen almost edge on, remarkably well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas. The complete supernova remnant lies about 1400 light-years away towards the constellation Cygnus. This Witch’s Broom actually spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the frame is 52 Cygni, visible with the unaided eye from a dark location but unrelated to the ancient supernova remnant.
來源:NASA每日圖片
