Puppis A
1 °
7,000 light years
RX J0822 -4300
SNR G260.4 - 03.4 • 2U 0821-42
Puppis A is a supernova remnant in the constellation Puppis. It was created by a supernova explosion 3,700 years ago. The supernova remnant covered apparently with the Vela supernova, but is four times as far away.
Puppis A is one of the brightest celestial phenomena in X-rays. Through observations with the X-ray satellite ROSAT resulting by the supernova progenitor star from the neutron star could be identified. This moves at a very high rate of 5 million kilometers per hour and is neither optically nor radioastronomisch detectable.
Observation history
Puppis A was observed in 1950 as a radio source. Later on, this could be associated with a mist in the optical range, and it was recognized a similarity to Cassiopeia A. Due to the athermal radio emission and the optical appearance of Puppis A was identified in the late 1960s as a supernova remnant.
The X-ray emission of Puppis A was observed with sounding rockets in 1970 and 1971, the latter as Puppis X-1 recorded. An observation by the UHURU satellite with the reference 2U 0821-42 was published in 1972.
Puppis A is the subject of numerous studies. Investigations in the infrared region were carried out for example with the Spitzer Space Telescope and the satellite Wide - Field Infrared Survey Explorer. In the latter shows almost the same structure as in the X-ray examinations and a clear contrast to the older Vela supernova.