Fireworks in Space: Check out this Hubble image of a supernova remnant

This spectacular image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows shreds of the colourful supernova remnant DEM L 190, also known as LMC N49. This is the brightest supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, and lies approximately 160,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Dorado.

The delicate sheets and intricate filaments in this Hubble image are actually debris from the cataclysmic death of a massive star that died in a supernova blast whose light would have reached Earth thousands of years ago, according to NASA. Our life-giving star, the Sun, and planets are constructed from similar debris of supernovae that exploded in the Milky Way billions of years ago.

Beauty in the chaos 🌟These colorful shreds of cosmic material are the "leftovers" of a massive star's supernova explosion!Known as DEM L 190, this bright supernova remnant resides about 160,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Dorado: https://t.co/jK74z6yTTC pic.twitter.com/jG3zWuo6C8

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) December 13, 2022

This spectacular celestial fireworks display was created with data from two different astronomical investigations, using one of Hubble's retired instruments, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). WFPC2 contributed to Hubble's cutting-edge science and produced a series of stunning public outreach images and was replaced by the more powerful Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) during Hubble Servicing Mission 4 in 2009.

The Hubble Space Telescope previously snapped this supernova remnant in 2003. The new picture incorporates additional data and improved image processing techniques, which makes the celestial fireworks display even more striking.