NASA gets poetic as it shares stunning image of mystical blue-green supernova E0102

NASA on Thursday shared an image of a striking bluish green supernova on the occasion of St.Patrick’s Day that was formed after a massive star exploded in a nearby galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud. The X-rays in the mesmerizing green, a colour symbolic of Irish rebellion during the St. Patrick day was emitted nearly 200,000 light-years away in the satellite galaxy of the milky way, according to NASA. 

In an Instagram post, the space agency wrote that a cosmic explosion sent the debris field abloom, creating the greenish radiations in a spectacular display of vibrant filaments. “There once was a massive star, 200,000 light-years afar. It collapsed and went boom,” NASA wrote alongside the awe-inspiring imagery, adding a tinge of humour, saying “no you can't get there by car.”  Further, the space administration wished the astrophiles a “happy St. Patrick's day”. The image was captured by  NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, and depicted the supernova remnant (SNR) popularly dubbed as "E0102". In a release, NASA astronomers informed that the amount of Oxygen in the E0102’s colourful ring is enough to sustain thousands of solar systems similar to that of the Earth’s. 

“E0102 was observed in 2003 with the Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys. Four filters that isolate light from blue, visible, and infrared wavelengths and hydrogen emission were combined with oxygen emission images of the SNR taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in 1995,” NASA’s Hubblesite explained. 

Located in star-forming region N76

The supernova remnant is a part of the galaxy which is believed to be thousands of years old, that stretches approximately 40 light-years of space, the Chandra observatory explained. It resembles a ‘flaming blue-green cosmic wheel’. According to NASA’s Hubblesite, E0102’S name signifies a celestial sphere that is located in the massive star-forming region known as N76 or Henize 1956. “Determined to be only about 2,000 years old, E0102 is relatively young on astronomical scales and is just beginning its interactions with the nearby interstellar medium,” Hubblesite stated. A supernova remnant like E0102 gives astronomers an insight into how stars are formed, their composition and the chemical enrichment in the illuminated areas. 

[E0102. Image Credit: NASA/Twitter/@LoinDuTemps]