Supernova Remnant Simeis 147

About This Photograph

Simeis 147 is a supernova remnant, the remains of a star that exploded approximately 40,000 years ago. Its tangled filamentary appearance gives rise to its more colloquial name, the Spaghetti Nebula. The colors arise from specific elements in the nebula: red is hydrogen, yellow is sulfur, and blue is oxygen. Over 300 individual exposures totaling 93 hours, taken over a three-month period, were required to produce this photograph.