File:Ssc2005-14a.jpg
![File:Ssc2005-14a.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Ssc2005-14a.jpg/800px-Ssc2005-14a.jpg?20070709231006)
Original file (3,000 × 1,950 pixels, file size: 2.06 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Captions
Summary
[edit]Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violent supernova explosion 325 years ago. It consists of a dead star, called a neutron star, and a surrounding shell of material that was blasted off as the star died. This remnant is located 10,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia.
Infrared echoes are created when a star explodes or erupts, flashing light into surrounding clumps of dust. As the light zips through the dust clumps, it heats them up, causing them to glow successively in infrared, like a chain of Christmas bulbs lighting up one by one. The result is an optical illusion, in which the dust appears to be flying outward at the speed of light. Echoes are distinct from supernova shockwaves, which are made up material that is swept up and hurled outward by exploding stars.
This infrared echo is the largest ever seen, stretching more than 50 light-years away from Cassiopeia A. If viewed from Earth, the entire movie frame would take up the same amount of space as two full moons.
Hints of an older infrared echo from Cassiopeia A's supernova explosion hundreds of years ago can also be seen.
The top Spitzer image was taken on November 30, 2003, and the bottom, on December 2, 2004.DescriptionSsc2005-14a.jpg | A Year in the Life of an Infrared Echo |
Date | November 30, 2003, and the bottom, on December 2, 2004. |
Source | http://gallery.spitzer.caltech.edu/Imagegallery/image.php?image_name=ssc2005-14a |
Author | NASA/JPL-Caltech/O. Krause (Steward Observatory) |
Permission (Reusing this file) |
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/copyright.shtml |
Individual images
[edit]see http://gallery.spitzer.caltech.edu/Imagegallery/image.php?image_name=ssc2005-14a High quality tif files also avaliable.
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
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This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ![]() |
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File history
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Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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current | 23:10, 9 July 2007 | ![]() | 3,000 × 1,950 (2.06 MB) | Anzibanonzi (talk | contribs) | ==Summary== These Spitzer Space Telescope images, taken one year apart, show the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (yellow ball) and surrounding clouds of dust (reddish orange). The pictures illustrate that a blast of light from Cassiopeia A is waltzing outw |
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File usage on Commons
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- File:A Year in the Life of an Infrared Echo.jpg (file redirect)
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Orientation | Normal |
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Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop 7.0 |
File change date and time | 13:45, 17 June 2005 |
Color space | Uncalibrated |
Image width | 3,000 px |
Image height | 1,950 px |
Date and time of digitizing | 03:43, 3 June 2005 |
Date metadata was last modified | 06:48, 6 June 2005 |