File:Ghostly Stellar Echoes in Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A.jpg

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Description	English: This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope highlights dramatic changes in phenomena referred to as light echoes (colored areas) around the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant (center). Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violent supernova explosion. It consists of a dead star, called a neutron star, and a surrounding shell of material that was blasted off as the star died. A light echo is created when a star explodes or erupts, flashing light into surrounding clumps of dust. As the light zips through the dust clumps, it heats them up, causing them to glow successively in infrared, like a chain of Christmas bulbs lighting up one by one. The result is an optical illusion, in which the dust appears to be flying outward at the speed of light. This apparent motion can be seen here by the shift in colored dust clumps. The main underlying image is a composite from Spitzer showing Cassiopeia A and surrounding interstellar clouds of dust. It consists of six images taken over a time span of three years, each represented in a different color, as noted by the key at the bottom of the image. Dust features that have not changed over time appear gray, while those that have changed are colored blue or orange. Bluer colors represent an earlier time and redder ones, a later time. Certain areas of the light echo are displayed in more detail to show the turbulent patterns formed as the light echo illuminates different areas of gas and dust over time. The supernova remnant is located 11,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. The light echo is the largest ever seen, stretching more than 300 light-years away from Cassiopeia A. If viewed from Earth, the entire frame would take up the same amount of space as seven full moons.
Date	29 May 2008
Source	http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1917-ssc2008-09a-Ghostly-Stellar-Echoes-in-Supernova-Remnant-Cassiopeia-A
Author	NASA/JPL-Caltech/Y. Kim (Univ. of Arizona/Univ. of Chicago)

Image use policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy

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	This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
	Warnings: Use of NASA logos, insignia and emblems is restricted per U.S. law 14 CFR 1221. The NASA website hosts a large number of images from the Soviet/Russian space agency, and other non-American space agencies. These are not necessarily in the public domain. Materials based on Hubble Space Telescope data may be copyrighted if they are not explicitly produced by the STScI.[1] See also {{PD-Hubble}} and {{Cc-Hubble}}. The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3] The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) site has been known to host copyrighted content. Its photo gallery FAQ states that all of the images in the photo gallery are in the public domain "Unless otherwise noted."

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current	17:42, 14 June 2011		2,400 × 3,000 (4.43 MB)	Spitzersteph (talk \| contribs)

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Image title	This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope highlights dramatic changes in phenomena referred to as light echoes (colored areas) around the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant (center). Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violent supernova explosion. It consists of a dead star, called a neutron star, and a surrounding shell of material that was blasted off as the star died. A light echo is created when a star explodes or erupts, flashing light into surrounding clumps of dust. As the light zips through the dust clumps, it heats them up, causing them to glow successively in infrared, like a chain of Christmas bulbs lighting up one by one. The result is an optical illusion, in which the dust appears to be flying outward at the speed of light. This apparent motion can be seen here by the shift in colored dust clumps. The main underlying image is a composite from Spitzer showing Cassiopeia A and surrounding interstellar clouds of dust. It consists of six images taken over a time span of three years, each represented in a different color, as noted by the key at the bottom of the image. Dust features that have not changed over time appear gray, while those that have changed are colored blue or orange. Bluer colors represent an earlier time and redder ones, a later time. Certain areas of the light echo are displayed in more detail to show the turbulent patterns formed as the light echo illuminates different areas of gas and dust over time. The supernova remnant is located 11,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. The light echo is the largest ever seen, stretching more than 300 light-years away from Cassiopeia A. If viewed from Earth, the entire frame would take up the same amount of space as seven full moons.
Author	Spitzer Space Telescope
Width	2,400 px
Height	3,000 px
Compression scheme	LZW
Pixel composition	RGB
Orientation	Normal
Number of components	3
Horizontal resolution	300 dpi
Vertical resolution	300 dpi
Data arrangement	chunky format
Software used	Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh
File change date and time	14:56, 5 June 2009
Color space	Uncalibrated

File:Ghostly Stellar Echoes in Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A.jpg

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