[The shock wave from the E 0102 explosion initially expanded outward at more than 12 million m.p.h. (20 million kilometers per hour). As it spread through space, it collided with the surrounding gas and charged particles, producing a rebounding shock wave that ricocheted inward. Analysis of the X-ray emissions reveals that the superheated gas is mostly oxygen and neon -- elements that are forged in nuclear reactions at the cores of stars.
Radio emissions are shown in red, while the green represents visible light emitted by hot oxygen gas.
What makes this supernova remnant stand out is that it has a very large quantity of oxygen compared to hydrogen, said Terrance Gaetz, an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the institution that manages Chandra.
One explanation for the preponderance of oxygen is that the parent star was very large and old, and had blown away most its hydrogen as stellar wind before it exploded.]
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/chandra_image_000414.html
Marcia
-had one more, but I'll stop. :)
Space/Science » in reply to What is a supernova shock wave?
re: Another. . .