June 13, 1996
The same forces that sculpt nebulae and spin galaxies into existence were at work the day you were born.
Vela Supernova Remnant in Optical
Birthday · June 13, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
Free PNG · 1080 × 1350 · No account needed
Image rights and credit requirements apply when sharing or reusing imagery.
Date & occasion only
Change the year
APOD published June 13, 1996. Credit: Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Anglo-Australian Observatory. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
About 11,000 years ago a star in the constellation of Vela exploded. This bright supernova may have been visible to the first human farmers. Today the Vela supernova remnant marks the position of a relatively close and recent explosion in our Galaxy. A roughly spherical, expanding shock wave is visible in X-rays. In the above optical photograph, the upper left corner of the spherical blast wave is shown in detail. As gas flies away from the detonated star, it reacts with the interstellar medium, knocking away closely held electrons from even heavy elements. When the electrons recombine with these atoms, light in many different colors and energy bands is produced.
Image credit: Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Anglo-Australian Observatory