APOD: Supernova Remnant Simeis 147 (2022 Jan 13)

[APOD Robot]

Supernova Remnant Simeis 147

Explanation: It's easy to get lost following the intricate, looping, twisting filaments in this detailed image of supernova remnant Simeis 147. Also cataloged as Sharpless 2-240 it goes by the popular nickname, the Spaghetti Nebula. Seen toward the boundary of the constellations Taurus and Auriga, it covers nearly 3 degrees or 6 full moons on the sky. That's about 150 light-years at the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years. This composite includes image data taken through narrow-band filters where reddish emission from ionized hydrogen atoms and doubly ionized oxygen atoms in faint blue-green hues trace the shocked, glowing gas. The supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000 years, meaning light from the massive stellar explosion first reached Earth 40,000 years ago. But the expanding remnant is not the only aftermath. The cosmic catastrophe also left behind a spinning neutron star or pulsar, all that remains of the original star's core.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[jks]

Hi,

Very nice APOD today!

However, the current 'Discuss' link points to the non-existent page for the 14th (the 'this link' link on that page points to the proper place).

jks

[Ann]

Supernova Remnant Simeis 147, the Spaghetti Nebula.
Image Credit & Copyright: Jason Dain

The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

---

I don't have anything smart to say about this, because supernova remnants are not my forte. I like supernovas when they are new and shiny (and blue if we are lucky, like SN2018gv in NGC 2525), but I'm usually pretty bored by their remnants. But I can try asking you smart people two questions:

1) Why do supernova remnants look so different?

SN 1987A. NASA.

---

Crab Nebula. NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)

---

What can we tell about the nature of the explosions and the remnants when we see what the remnants look like?

So is the Crab Nebula so tattered and torn because it has got a very angry pulsar inside it? And the Spaghetti Monster, eh, Simeis 147, and SN 1987A haven't, so they are not? But why is Simeis 147 so intricately spaghettified, and SN 1987A isn't?

Ann

[VictorBorun]

their ages do differ:
Spaghetti Nebula is 40 ky old
Crab Nebula is 1 ky old
SN 1987A is 0.03 ky old

But what are Spaghetti filaments? Or, what are the many bubbles whose edges and inter-boundaries we can see as filaments?
Are there many magnetic dense clusters in an SN flow and do they blow up after flying apart from each other?

[orin stepanek]

I thought bit looked 'Icky' 'til I saw Ann's meatball & spaghetti head!
I'll never eat meat balls ans spaghetti again!

[neufer]

I thought bit looked 'Icky' 'til I saw Ann's meatball & spaghetti head!
I'll never eat meat balls ans spaghetti again!

Swedish meat balls are OK but I wouldn't eat An's spaghetti either.

[orin stepanek]

I thought bit looked 'Icky' 'til I saw Ann's meatball & spaghetti head!
I'll never eat meat balls ans spaghetti again!

Swedish meat balls are OK but I wouldn't eat An's spaghetti either.

.jpg (18 KiB) Viewed 10264 times

Oh yes! very good!

[RJN]

However, the current 'Discuss' link points to the non-existent page for the 14th (the 'this link' link on that page points to the proper place).

jks

Sorry! Just fixed it.

[neufer]

Why do supernova remnants look so different?

• 1) Their type.
  2) Their age.
  3) Their environment.

[Ann]

Why do supernova remnants look so different?

• 1) Their type.
  2) Their age.
  3) Their environment.

Thank you so much for your exhaustive answer, Art! Now, thanks to you, I know exactly why Simeis 147 looks the way it looks.
Ann

[Fred the Cat]

Ann, your Flying Spaghetti Monster reminded me of last night's Nature.

[neufer]

Ann, your Flying Spaghetti Monster reminded me of last night's Nature.

That show came to mind for me as well.

It made be think that any planet with life was bound to have predators & prey
and that eventually some those predators would have to become super intelligent.

[johnnydeep]

Ann, your Flying Spaghetti Monster reminded me of last night's Nature.

That show came to mind for me as well.

It made be think that any planet with life was bound to have predators & prey
and that eventually some those predators would have to become super intelligent.

I don't know about that. What's so inevitable about evolution giving rise to (animal) predators? Why not a world with only plants and herbivores? Or even a world of only plants?

[SeedsofEarfth]

If the explosion is 40K years old, and the light from that explosion had to travel 3K light-years to earth, then wouldn't that mean that the light from the explosion reached earth 43K years ago. I'm confused. Maybe it's just the way the author worded it.

[neufer]

If the explosion is 40K years old, and the light from that explosion had to travel 3K light-years to earth, then wouldn't that mean that the light from the explosion reached earth 43K years ago. I'm confused. Maybe it's just the way the author worded it.

The [Earth observed] supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000 years, meaning light from the massive stellar explosion first reached Earth [approximately] 40,000 years ago.

[Chris Peterson]

Ann, your Flying Spaghetti Monster reminded me of last night's Nature. :lol2:

That show came to mind for me as well.

It made be think that any planet with life was bound to have predators & prey
and that eventually some those predators would have to become super intelligent.

They only have to become intelligent enough to survive, which may not be "super". And, of course, it may not be technological intelligence at all. Dolphins may have thoughts as complex as humans, or even more so. Their environment does not readily offer technology as a path, however.

[neufer]

Ann, your Flying Spaghetti Monster reminded me of last night's Nature.

That show came to mind for me as well.

It made be think that any planet with life was bound to have predators & prey
and that eventually some those predators would have to become super intelligent.

They only have to become intelligent enough to survive, which may not be "super". And, of course, it may not be technological intelligence at all. Dolphins may have thoughts as complex as humans, or even more so. Their environment does not readily offer technology as a path, however.

Festina lente : "make haste slowly"

(Super intelligent creatures with technology are probably mostly rare because they quickly destroy their environment.)