Cosmic Campfire - DEM L 190

This enthralling image of the supernova remnant DEM L 190, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, provides a glimpse into the cataclysmic death of a massive star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way’s small galactic neighbour. Located approximately 160,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Dorado, DEM L 190, also known as LMC N49, is one of the brightest supernova remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

The delicate filaments of the remnant, which resemble puffs of smoke and sparks from a campfire, are layers of debris from the stellar explosion. These filaments, along with other materials from the blast, will eventually contribute to the formation of a new generation of stars.

Astronomers studied DEM L 190 to understand the interaction between the supernova remnant and the interstellar medium. The intricate structure houses a powerful, rapidly spinning neutron star known as a magnetar. This exotic object undergoes episodes of gamma-ray emissions and is classified as a "soft gamma-ray repeater," referring to its emission of photons with lower energy than typical gamma-ray bursts. The neutron star also emits X-rays with energies slightly less than those of soft gamma rays.

The stunning image is a composite of data from two different astronomical projects using Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2).

Source: NASA

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Kulkarni, Y. Chu