This is all that’s left of a giant star

Around 11 000 years ago a massive star ended its life in a powerful explosion, known as a supernova. During explosions like this, shock waves ripple out through the surrounding gas, compressing it into intricate thread-like structures. The energy that’s released during a supernova then heats these threads, causing them to shine brightly. The result is what we can see in this Picture of the Week: the Vela supernova remnant. 

This picture is just a small chunk of a much larger image, taken with the OmegaCAM instrument on the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), which is hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. At only 800 light-years from Earth, the Vela supernova remnant is one of the closest examples of these dramatic events. Thanks to its proximity we can study this object in great detail, to help us understand what happens when massive stars reach the end of their life in spectacular fashion.