A supernova remnant may have been discovered in the Milky Way

An image showing the supernova SN 1993J.

Thanks to the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers may have found the remnant of a supernova in our galaxy. However, another hypothesis has also been put forward to explain the origin of this structure.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched in 1999 aboard the space shuttle Columbia and is one of the most powerful space telescopes. Thanks to instruments such as the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer and the High Resolution Camera, it is capable of observing X-rays emitted by celestial objects. Recently, NASA released an image captured by this telescope, showing what may be the remnant of a supernova in our galaxy.

This structure is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, within a bubble of gas surrounding a massive star. According to astronomers, it is expanding at a speed of two million miles per hour and is thought to have formed about 1,700 years ago.

In this image, which combines X-ray data from the Chandra and XMM-Newton telescopes with radio data from the MeerKAT telescope, it is possible to see long filaments caused by particles.

An image of the supernova captured by the Chandra telescope.

However, this remnant could be of interest to astronomers. Indeed, during these events, huge amounts of matter are ejected into space, allowing the formation of new stars and planets. Nevertheless, another hypothesis has been put forward regarding this structure. 

According to some astronomers, it could also be a cluster of massive stars. But its brightness is ten times greater than that of other star clusters, making this hypothesis unlikely.

Alexis Stegmann – Tech Writer – 663 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025

I’ve been working in the field of web writing for several years, and I’m passionate about keeping readers up to date with the latest news on astronomy, technology, the world of video games and other exciting subjects. In particular, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of websites, which has enabled me to cover a wide range of subjects. In my personal life, I’m passionate about a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, video games, history and science. I’m also drawn to psychology, which is a subject that deserves greater documentation and recognition.