Hubble image archive
Cygnus Loop Compass Image
Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to zoom in for a close-up look at one sliver of the Cygnus Loop nebula—a huge bubble of glowing gasses. They found gossamer filaments resembling lines in a wrinkled bedsheet stretched across two light-years. This region lies at the oute...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2023
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2023-018-01haqfn1856jvb8vhjvxs828z0
Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to zoom in for a close-up look at one sliver of the Cygnus Loop nebula—a huge bubble of glowing gasses. They found gossamer filaments resembling lines in a wrinkled bedsheet stretched across two light-years. This region lies at the outer edge of the expanding bubble, and was produced by an exploding star 20,000 years ago.
Analyzing the shock wave's location, astronomers found that the filaments haven't slowed down at all in the last 20 years of Hubble observations, and they haven't changed shape. The material is speeding into interstellar space at over half a million miles per hour—fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in less than half an hour.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, STScI
Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Cygnus Loop |
| Object Description | Supernova Remnant |
| R.A. Position | 20:56:04.18 |
| Dec. Position | 31:56:25.90 |
| Constellation | Cygnus |
| Distance | 2500 light-years |
| Dimensions | Image is about 2.4 arcmin across (about 1.74 light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST observations include those from program: 15893 (R. Sankrit) |
| Instrument | WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | July 1, 2020 |
| Filters | F502N, F656N |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the The Hubble Space Telescope using the WFC3/UVIS instrument. Two filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F502N, Orange: F656N |
More Images From This Period
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov