Inside Out

  • Released Thursday, September 20th, 2012
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:52PM
  • ID: 11080

What happens when a star explodes? Astronomers sorting through pieces of a star that burst about 330 years ago discovered it might have blown up from the inside out. Data from ground-based observatories and NASA's Chandra and Spitzer space telescopes reveal material forged deep inside the star, such as iron, was on the outer edge of the explosion. The blast, called a supernova, takes place when a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses under its own gravity. This process ignites a runaway nuclear reaction that can outshine a hundred billion suns. The explosion, meanwhile, can launch elements into space—including those found in the star's core—that give rise to new stars, planets and even life. Watch the video to see how astronomers pieced together the inside-out nature of the explosion by mapping the trail of elements it left behind.

Astronomers map the remains of an exploded star.

Astronomers map the remains of an exploded star.

Watch this video to learn more about what happens when a star explodes.

Astronomers gained insight into the structure of Cassiopeia A by creating a three-dimensional map of its debris cloud—the first of its kind.

Glowing hot debris can be seen in this Chandra image of Cassiopeia A, where X-rays at various energy levels are represented by different colors.

Glowing hot debris can be seen in this Chandra image of Cassiopeia A, where X-rays at various energy levels are represented by different colors.

Remains located on the outer edge of the explosion are seen in this Hubble image of Cassiopeia A.

Remains located on the outer edge of the explosion are seen in this Hubble image of Cassiopeia A.

This illustration of the distribution of elements prior to the explosion shows iron (Fe) at the star's core.

This illustration of the distribution of elements prior to the explosion shows iron (Fe) at the star's core.

This X-ray map showing the location of elements after the explosion reveals iron (blue) on the outer edge of the blast wave.

This X-ray map showing the location of elements after the explosion reveals iron (blue) on the outer edge of the blast wave.

This 3D data visualization shows heavier elements, such as iron (green), at the outer limits of the debris zone.

This 3D data visualization shows heavier elements, such as iron (green), at the outer limits of the debris zone.

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Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
Science@NASA and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Image of Cassiopeia A in many colors courtesy of X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScl; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Steward/O.Krause et al.
3D Fly-Through of Cassiopeia A visualization courtesy of NASA/CXC/D. Berry; Model: NASA/CXC/MIT/T. Delaney et al.
Chandra X-Ray image of Cassiopeia A courtesy of NASA/CXC/UNAM/Ioffe/D.Page, P. Shternin et al.
Chandra Optical image of Cassiopeia A from Hubble courtesy of NASA/STScI
Illustration of distribution of elements courtesy of NASA/CXC/M. Weiss
Chandra X-Ray element map courtesy of NASA/CXC/GSFC/U. Hwang & J. Laming
3D Visualization still image of Cassiopeia A courtesy of NASA/CXC/MIT/T.Delaney et al.