Hubble uncovers stunning detail of remnant of an 8,000-year-old supernova

Veil Nebula debris is one of the best-known supernova remnants, deriving its name from its delicate, draped filamentary structures. It is the rmeains of a star that exploded 8,000 years ago.

It is huge, too, and far, far away.

The entire nebula is 110 light-years across and 2,100 light years from Earth. This view by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is only a tiny portion of the whole structure – the image area is about two light years across.

The close-up shows wisps of gas, which are all that remain of what was once a star 20 times more massive than our sun. The fast-moving blast wave from the ancient explosion is plowing into a wall of cool, denser interstellar gas, emitting light. The nebula lies along the edge of a large bubble of low-density gas that was blown into space by the dying star prior to its self-detonation.