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A Celestial Witch’s Broom?

The Pencil Nebula is pictured in a new image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. This peculiar cloud of glowing gas is part of a huge ring of wreckage left over after a supernova explosion that took place about 11 000 years ago.
A Celestial Witch’s Broom?

ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile captured new images oh the Pencil Nebula (NGC 2736), this peculiar cloud of glowing gas part of a huge ring of wreckage left over after a supernova explosion that took place about 11 000 years ago. This detailed view was produced by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope. NASA's astronomers are looking along the edge of the undulating sheet of gas. The Pencil’s shape suggests that it is part of the supernova shock wave of debris that recently slammed into a region of dense gas, causing the nebula to glow.

Read the complete release at http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1236/.

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