Have you seen a star explode?

Now you have.

On the lookout for evidence of young supernovas in our galaxy for 50 years, astronomers have spied the remnants, at a mere 140 years old, of the youngest such example in the Milky Way.

According to  NASA, it could not be observed in optical light because it was obscured by a dense field of gas and dust near the center of the galaxy. However, because the heavy elements of the exploding star penetrate the curtain of dust and gas, evidence for the supernova can be observed by radio and X-Ray telescopes.

This ejected material is the foundation on which new stars and planets are formed.

Hat tip: Universe Today.

Image credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/NCSU/S.Reynolds et al.); Radio (NSF/NRAO/VLA/Cambridge/D.Green et al.))

Wayne

Wikipedia: supernova