The newly identified GRO/RX J0852 Supernova Remnant
Two supernova remnants (SNR) are seen in this X-ray image: the larger Vela, which covers most of the field, and Puppis A, enhanced in blue. Vela, 230 light years across, is one of the most extensively studied SNRs because of its large angular size and high surface brightness. In the lower left corner of Vela is the newly identified GRO/RX J0852, which cannot be seen in this image because Vela, far behind it, overshadows it.
Field: 6 degrees (Vela) // Distance: Vela, 1,500 light years; Puppis A, 6,000 light years
Instrument: ROSAT PSPC; Credit: MPE
In this X-ray image we begin to see the newest supernova remnant, GRO/RX J0852. This image is of a higher energy range than the initial image of the region -- at E > 1.3 keV. (*keV = 1,000 electronvolts (visible light, on average, is about 1 electronvolt)
Instrument: ROSAT PSPC; Credit: B. Aschenbach, MPE
This gamma-ray likelihood map at 1.16 MeV* from the decay of titanium-44 reveals GRO/RX J0852, the young supernova remnant hiding within the Vela supernova remnant's great gas cloud light-years behind it. Titanium-44 has a half-life of 60 years. So the young GRO/RX J0852 still has lots of radioactive titanium to detect; the 11,000-year-old Vela has long since used up its radioactive titanium and is invisible in this range of gamma ray. GRO/RX J0852 exploded about 700 years ago and must have been nearly as bright as a full moon visible for several months. (*MeV = 1 million electronvolts; visible light, on average, is about 1 electronvolt)
Instrument: CGRO COMPTEL; Credit: Anatoli Lyudin, Volker Schondelfer (MPE)
These two X-ray images uncover GRO/RX J0852, the new supernova remnant overshadowed by a larger, more distant remnant called Vela. In the first image (at the energy level between 0.1-2.4 keV*) we only see Vela, which covers most of the field, and Puppis A, yet another supernova remnant appearing as the smaller ball in the upper right. In the second image (at E > 1.3 keV*) we begin to see the newest supernova remnant. GRO/RX J0852 exploded about 700 years ago and must have been nearly as bright as a full moon visible for several months. (*keV = 1,000 electronvolts (visible light, on average, is about 1 electronvolt)
Instrument: ROSAT PSPC; Credit: B. Aschenbach, MPE
