Fact Sheet
Bright Reminder
What may be the brightest supernova ever seen by human eyes flared brilliantly on May 1, 1006. This X-ray image, from the orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory, shows what remains of the star: an expanding bubble of hot gas. The bright blue areas at the edge of the bubble show the edge of a shock wave produced by the explosion. The red filaments are gas that is heated to millions of degrees behind the shock wave. [Credit: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/J.Hughes]
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