OmegaCAM Sees Giant Filaments in Vela Supernova Remnant

May 30, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The new image from the OmegaCAM instrument on ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope shows a spectacular part of the Vela supernova remnant.



This OmegaCAM/VST image shows a part of the Vela supernova remnant. Image credit: ESO / VPHAS+ Team / Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit.


The Vela supernova remnant, or Vela SNR, is one of the best studied supernova remnants in the sky.

Its progenitor star exploded around 11,000 years ago in the southern constellation of Vela.

The association of this supernova remnant with the Vela pulsar, made by Australian astronomers in 1968, was the direct observational evidence that supernovae form neutron stars.

“This beautiful structure of filaments and clouds in the constellation of Vela are all that remains of a massive star that died in a powerful explosion known as a supernova,” ESO astronomers said in a statement.

The new image of the Vela supernova remnant was captured by the OmegaCAM, a wide-field camera installed on ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at Paranal Observatory in the Chilean desert.

More:
https://www.sci.news/astronomy/omegacam-vela-supernova-remnant-filaments-11958.html