January 8, 2009
If the universe seems cold from a distance, birthdays are part of its rebuttal.
NGC 2736: The Pencil Nebula
Birthday · January 8, 2009
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published January 8, 2009. Credit: Ken Crawford. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
This shock wave plows through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour. Moving right to left in the beautifully detailed color composite, the thin, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge on. Cataloged as NGC 2736, its narrow appearance suggests its popular name, the Pencil Nebula. About 5 light-years long and a mere 800 light-years away, the Pencil Nebula is only a small part of the Vela supernova remnant. The Vela remnant itself is around 100 light-years in diameter, the expanding debris cloud of a star that was seen to explode about 11,000 years ago. Initially, the shock wave was moving at millions of kilometers per hour but has slowed considerably, sweeping up surrounding interstellar gas.
Image credit: Ken Crawford