Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Taurus (Tau)  ·  Contains:  HD244173  ·  HD244277  ·  HD244285  ·  HD244329  ·  HD244338  ·  HD244394  ·  HD244415  ·  HD244425  ·  HD244426  ·  HD244464  ·  HD244490  ·  HD244515  ·  HD244547  ·  HD244548  ·  HD244581  ·  HD244582  ·  HD244598  ·  HD244609  ·  HD244644  ·  HD244645  ·  HD244663  ·  HD244695  ·  HD244697  ·  HD244708  ·  HD244726  ·  HD244741  ·  HD244742  ·  HD244743  ·  HD244812  ·  HD244813  ·  And 303 more.
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Sh2-240 Spaghetti Nebula, Kirby Collins
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Sh2-240 Spaghetti Nebula

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Sh2-240 Spaghetti Nebula, Kirby Collins
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Sh2-240 Spaghetti Nebula

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Description

Sh2-240 (aka the Spaghetti Nebula) is a supernova remnant - the result of the cataclysmic death of a star some 35,000 years ago.  This violent explosion ejected most of the mass of the original star, leaving behind a neutron star and a rapidly expanding cloud of gas and stellar debris.  As the cloud interacts with the interstellar medium, it forms filaments of excited gas glowing with HII and OIII emissions.  Today the cloud is almost 200 light years across, and spans over 3 degrees when viewed from Earth.  The pulsar J0538+2817 is located withing the nebula and is believed to be the stellar remnant, although there is some debate about this.  At least one paper I found proposed that there may have been a gamma ray burst associated with the supernova, which could have had an impact on life on Earth if it had been aimed in our direction.

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Sh2-240 Spaghetti Nebula, Kirby Collins