Seeing the Cygnus Loop in a NewWay

X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC; Optical: John Stone (Astrobin); Image Processing: NASA/SAO/
CXC/L. Frattre, N. Wolk

The Cygnus Loop, also known as the Veil Nebula, is a supernova remnant – the remains of the
explosive death of a massive star. Studying images like these leads to discovery, but NASA’s
Chandra X-ray Observatory provides another way to experience this data: three-dimensional (3D)
models that allow people to explore – and print – examples of stars in the early and end stages of
their lives.
The 3D model of the Cygnus Loop is the result of a simulation describing the interaction of a blast
wave from the explosion with an isolated cloud of the interstellar medium (that is, dust and gas in
between the stars). Chandra sees the blast wave and other material that has been heated to
millions of degrees. These 3D models are based on state-of-the-art theoretical models,
computational algorithms, and observations from space-based telescopes like Chandra that give us
accurate pictures of these cosmic objects and how they evolve over time.
See more 3D printable models of cosmic objects.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC; Optical: John Stone (Astrobin); Image Processing: NASA/
SAO/CXC/L. Frattre, N. Wolk¹

1. The Cygnus Loop, also known as the Veil Nebula, is a supernova remnant – the remains of the
   explosive death of a massive star. Studying images like these leads to discovery, but NASA’s
   Chandra X-ray Observatory provides another way to experience this data: three-dimensional (3D)
   models that allow people to explore – and print – examples of stars in the early and end stages of
   their lives.
   The 3D model of the Cygnus Loop is the result of a simulation describing the interaction of a blast
   wave from the explosion with an isolated cloud of the interstellar medium (that is, dust and gas in
   between the stars). Chandra sees the blast wave and other material that has been heated to
   millions of degrees. These 3D models are based on state-of-the-art theoretical models,
   computational algorithms, and observations from space-based telescopes like Chandra that give us
   accurate pictures of these cosmic objects and how they evolve over time.
   See more 3D printable models of cosmic objects.
   
   Image credit: X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC; Optical: John Stone (Astrobin); Image Processing: NASA/
   SAO/CXC/L. Frattre, N. Wolk ↩︎