The Vela Supernova Remnant
The remains of a star that exploded
Massive stars die in spectacular fashion, once their nuclear fuel is exhausted there is no longer enough outward pressure
to hold the star's shape. Gravity takes over collapsing billions of tons of star material toward the center of the star, the
star's iron core instantly shrinks and then recoils producing a shock wave that violently explodes outward ripping the star
apart in what is called a supernova explosion. The extreme heat created, exceeding 100-billion degrees, produces new heavy
elements including Gold, Platinum, Lead, Uranium and Silver that enrich the surrounding universe with elements essential for
the formation of new stars and planets. High speed shock waves travel outward from the explosion and compress the gas and dust
in surrounding space, triggering the formation of new stars. The green areas we see in my image reveals the presence of Oxygen,
created in the star and spread by the supernova explosion. The red areas are regions of hydrogen. Earth would be far too small
to appear in this photo.