NASA shares spectacular image of massive star explosion; netizens react to viral photo

The USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has once again created a buzz on the internet by sharing a spectacular image of a massive star explosion. The US space agency often takes to social media to mesmerise users with their amazing as well as insightful posts.

A Supernova Remnant (SNR), or the remains of a supernova explosion, is depicted in the latest image shared from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The stunning image, shared on NASA's official Instagram page, shows different rings of colours such as yellow, red, blue and purple depicting different elements.

"Chandra, I’m ready for my close-up. This supernova remnant was produced by the explosion of a massive star. With help from @NASAChandraXray, astronomers have been able to confirm that most oxygen in the universe comes from explosions like we see here. The amount of oxygen generated from this explosion could fuel thousands of solar systems (sic)," read the caption of the post. 

The post has gone viral on Instagram and other social media platforms since it was shared on Tuesday, January 11. As of now, it has garnered over 16 lakh likes and the numbers are still increasing. Besides, it also accumulated a plethora of comments from people. 

Have a look at the post here:

'Incredibly beautiful': Netizens react to NASA's post

Reacting to the post, one of the users wrote, "Beautiful, too cool. I'd love to float out in space and see some of these (sic)." "Incredibly beautiful," wrote another.

"It's so beautiful. But dear NASA I have a question, how old are these now? (sic)," another user questioned. In addition, many people dropped different emojis in the comments section to express their reactions. Take a look:

Elements necessary for life come from furnaces of stars and their explosions: NASA

As per NASA, SNRs, which play an important role in the galaxy, heat the interstellar medium, disperse heavy materials throughout the galaxy, and accelerate cosmic rays. The US space agency also stated that elements necessary for life on a planet come from the furnaces of stars and their explosions and that there would be no earth without the SNRs.

Massive stellar explosions provide oxygen, the most plentiful element in the human body. Meanwhile, calcium and nearly 40% of iron are also produced by such explosions. The explosion of smaller mass and white dwarf stars maintain the equilibrium of these components, NASA stated on its website. 

(Image: @NASA/Instagram)