Multimedia Gallery
Composite image of supernova remnant W49B showing a barrel-shaped nebula.
A composite image of the supernova remnant W49B reveals a barrel-shaped nebula. One of the final events in the creation of this supernova remnant would have been a gamma-ray burst. A suggested chain of events begins when a star collapses and forms a black hole. Gas around it is pulled into it, but some is flung away, driving a shock wave back into the cloud.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SSC/J. Keohane et al.; Infrared: Caltech/SSC/J.Rho and T. Jarrett
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
Also Available:
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (227 KB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.
Related story: Search Is on for Hot Young Stars