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Cassiopeia A:
Chandra's Celestial Fireworks
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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Visual Description:
The X-ray image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A is a striking irregular-spherical image with a range of textures, from smooth and uniform to clumpy and irregular. The Cassiopeia A image shows remarkable structure in the debris of a gigantic stellar explosion, as well as a tiny white dot in the center, which is the rapidly spinning neutron star. The surrounding areas beyond that white point source have lower levels of brightness. The low, medium, and higher X-ray energies of the Chandra data are shown as red, green, and blue respectively. Overall, the image manages to evoke dim but colorful glowing embers in soft, muted pinks, purples, greys, greens and blues.
Revised: October 07, 2025