2023-09-29 19:40:16
Swan Lace. This is the poetic name that astronomers give to what remains of a supernova that appeared in our sky around 20,000 years ago. The diameter of this remnant nestled some 1,500 light years from Earth has now reached 120 light years and continues to expand.
Herschel’s Swan Lace at Hubble
Swan Lace was first observed in 1784, by the German-British astronomer William Herschel and his “modest” 18-inch telescope. Today, thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have been able to zoom in on the remains of this supernova.
A supernova that continues to expand
They reveal, on the edge of the Cygne Lace, in the zone where the shock wave from the supernova explosion of the star sinks into the surrounding matter, a structure which is reminiscent of wrinkles in the sheets of a bed. Wrinkles stretching across the images for some 2 light years. And traveling through space without slowing down for at least 20 years at the dizzying speed — for us, not necessarily for a supernova — of more than half a million kilometers per hour.
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