APOD: 2026 June 2 – The Vela Supernova Remnant
Discover the cosmos!
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2026 June 2
The Vela Supernova Remnant
Image Credit & Copyright:
José Mtanous
Explanation:
The explosion is over, but the consequences continue.
About twelve thousand years ago, a relatively normal star in the constellation
Vela suddenly
exploded,
creating a strange point of light briefly visible to
humans living near the beginning of
recorded history.
The outer layers of the star crashed into the
interstellar medium, driving a
shock wave that is still visible today.
The
featured image,
taken piecemeal over 60 hours from the
Khomas Region of
Namibia,
captures some of that filamentary and gigantic shock in
visible light, with details highlighted by
hydrogen (red) and
oxygen (blue) emissions.
As gas flies away from the detonated star, it
decays and reacts with the
interstellar medium,
producing light in many different colors and energy bands.
Remaining at the center of the
Vela Supernova Remnant is a
pulsar, a star as dense as nuclear matter that
spins around
more than ten times in a single second.
Explore the Universe:
Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow’s picture: open space
<
| Archive
| Submissions
| Index
| Search
| Calendar
| RSS
| Education
| About APOD
| Discuss
| >
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy,
Accessibility,
Notices;
A service of:
ASD at
NASA /
GSFC,