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Cassiopeia A:
Chandra's Celestial Fireworks
In August of 1999, NASA released an image of Cassiopeia A, a supernova remnant revealed in never-before-seen X-ray detail. The "Cas A" image, as it has come to be
known, shows remarkable structure in the debris of a
gigantic stellar explosion, as well as an enigmatic
source in the center, which could be a rapidly spinning
neutron star or black hole. The Chandra X-ray
Observatory image of Cas A ushered in a new era of
X-ray astronomy. This image was produced from the
archives to celebrate the anniversary of
Chandra’s first light. The low, medium, and
higher X-ray energies of the Chandra data are shown as
red, green, and blue respectively.
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Fast Facts for
Cassiopeia A:
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Credit
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NASA/CXC/SAO
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Scale
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Image is 6.9 x 8.2 arcmin
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Category
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Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
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Coordinates
(J2000)
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RA 23h 23m 26.7s | Dec +58º 49'
03.00" |
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Constellation
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Cassiopeia
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Observation
Date
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January 30, 2000
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Observation
Time
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13.9 hours
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Obs.
ID
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114
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Color
Code
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Energy: Red .3-1.55 keV, Green
1.55-3.34 keV, Blue 3.34-10 keV
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Instrument
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ACIS
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Distance
Estimate
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About 10,000 light years
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Release Date
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August 19, 2002
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