Source: Chandra CXC
G299.2-2.9 is a supernova remnant found about 16,000 light years from Earth.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/U. Texas at Arlington/S.Park et al, ROSAT;
Infrared: 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF
G299.2-2.9 is an intriguing supernova remnant found about 16,000 light years away in the Milky Way galaxy . Evidence points to G299.2-2.9 being the remains of a Type Ia supernova, where a white dwarf has grown sufficiently massive to cause a thermonuclear explosion. Because it is older than most supernova remnants caused by these explosions, at an age of about 4500 years, G299.2-2.9 provides astronomers with an excellent opportunity to study how these objects evolve over time. It also provides a probe of the Type Ia supernova explosion that produced this structure. (read more)
