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Supernova remnant IC 443, composite image
Supernova remnant IC 443, composite image. This is a combination of X-ray (blue), radio (green) and optical (red) data. A supernova remnant (SNR) is an expanding shell of dust and gas that forms following the explosive death of a massive star. The collision of the ejected material with the interstellar medium is causing the material to heat up and glow. IC 443 is thought to have formed some 8000 years ago. It is around 5000 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Gemini. The data, from January 2005, was obtained by ROSAT and the Chandra X-ray telescope (X-ray), the Very Large Array (VLA, radio), and the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS, optical).
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