SNR 0519-69.0:
Cosmic Fireworks

The remains of four supernovas in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy provide a dazzling display of one of nature's most explosive events. These X-ray images show multimillion degree gas that has been heated by shock waves from the explosions. Moving in a clockwise direction from the upper left to the lower left, the approximate ages of the remnants are 600 years, 1500 years, 10,000 years and 13,000 years, respectively.

Chandra X-ray spectra provide important clues as to how these stars exploded. The remnants on the upper left, upper right and lower right show a concentration of elements typical of a Type Ia supernova. Such an explosion is triggered when matter is pulled from a companion star onto a white dwarf star and pushes it past the limit of stability. The ensuing thermonuclear explosion completely disrupts the white dwarf star.

In contrast, the supernova that produced the remnant SNR 0453-68.5 left behind a neutron star. This indicates that a Type II supernova occurred when the nuclear power source of a massive star became exhausted and the stellar core collapsed to form a neutron star, while the outer layers of the star were blown away. The rapidly spinning neutron star is ejecting a magnetized wind of extremely high-energy particles, which appears in the image as the elongated, bright blue-white spot at the center of the remnant.

Fast Facts for SNR 0519-69.0: Credit  NASA/CXC/SAO Scale  Image is 1.85 arcmin per side. Category  Supernovas & Supernova Remnants Coordinates (J2000)  RA 05h 19m 34.90s | Dec -69º 02' 07.30" Constellation  Dorado Observation Dates  2000-06-21 Observation Time  11 hours Obs. IDs  118 Color Code  Energy (Red: low energy; Green: medium energy; Blue: high energy) Instrument  ACIS References  K. Borkowski et al 2006 Astrophys. J.642, L141 Distance Estimate  About 160,000 light years Release Date  July 03, 2006

Fast Facts for SNR 0509-68.7: Credit  NASA/CXC/SAO Scale  Image is 2.4 arcmin per side. Category  Supernovas & Supernova Remnants Coordinates (J2000)  RA 05h 09m 03.90s | Dec -68º 43' 19.00" Constellation  Dorado Observation Dates  January 1-3, 2001 Observation Time  33 hours Obs. IDs  1045, 2410, 2416 Color Code  Energy (Red: low energy; Green: medium energy; Blue: high energy) Instrument  ACIS Also Known As  N103B References  K. Borkowski et al 2006 Astrophys. J.642, L141 Distance Estimate  About 160,000 light years Release Date  July 03, 2006

Fast Facts for SNR 0453-68.5: Credit  NASA/CXC/SAO Scale  Image is 8.7 arcmin per side. Category  Supernovas & Supernova Remnants Coordinates (J2000)  RA 04h 53m 40.00s | Dec -68º 29' 45.00" Constellation  Dorado Observation Dates  2001-12-18 Observation Time  11 hours Obs. IDs  1990 Color Code  Energy (Red: low energy; Green: medium energy; Blue: high energy) Instrument  ACIS References  K. Borkowski et al 2006 Astrophys. J.642, L141 Distance Estimate  About 160,000 light years Release Date  July 03, 2006

Fast Facts for SNR 0534-69.9: Credit  NASA/CXC/SAO Scale  Image is 8.8 arcmin per side. Category  Supernovas & Supernova Remnants Coordinates (J2000)  RA 05h 34m 00.00s | Dec -69º 55' 00.00" Constellation  Dorado Observation Dates  2001-09-01 Observation Time  17 hours Obs. IDs  1991 Color Code  Energy (Red: low energy; Green: medium energy; Blue: high energy) Instrument  ACIS References  K. Borkowski et al 2006 Astrophys. J.642, L141 Distance Estimate  About 160,000 light years Release Date  July 03, 2006