NASA's Chandra spots possible supernova remnant near Milky Way's central black hole
Astronomers may have found the wreckage of an exploded star almost on the doorstep of the giant black hole at the center of our galaxy. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton, a team detected a blob of X-rays about 26,000 light years away. If confirmed, it would be one of the closest supernova remnants ever found to the Milky Way's central black hole.
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton report a possible new supernova remnant near the center of the Milky Way, about 26,000 light years from Earth. The X-ray blob sits inside a glowing hydrogen-gas bubble and bright radio source called Sagittarius C. If confirmed, the remnant is expanding at roughly 2 million miles per hour and is at least 1,700 years old, making it one of the closest such remnants to the galaxy's central black hole. Earlier SOFIA observations hinted at an expanding gas shell in the same spot. Supernovae seed space with elements like iron and oxygen, the raw material for future stars and planets. Study published in The Astrophysical Journal. Authors from UCLA, Italy's INAF and Nanjing University.