A Supernova Remnant Video Decades in Making | NASA Chandra [Budget Alert]

A Supernova Remnant Video Decades in Making | NASA Chandra [Budget Alert]

A new video shows the exciting development of Kepler’s Supernova Remnant using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured over more than two and a half decades.

Kepler’s Supernova Remnant, named after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, was first spotted in the night sky in 1604. Today, astronomers know that a white dwarf star exploded when it exceeded a critical mass, after pulling material from a companion star, or merging with another white dwarf. This kind of supernova is known as a Type Ia and scientists use it to measure the expansion of the Universe.

Supernova remnants, the debris fields left behind after a stellar explosion, often glow strongly in X-ray light because the material has been heated to millions of degrees from the blast. The remnant is located in our Galaxy about 17,000 light-years from Earth. This is relatively close in cosmic terms and allows Chandra to make exquisite images of the debris and how it changes with time.

This latest video includes Chandra’s X-ray data from 2000, 2004, 2006, 2014, and 2025. This makes it the longest-spanning video that Chandra has ever released. It also allows astronomers to watch as these remains from this shattered star crash into material already thrown out into space.

The researchers used the video to show that the fastest parts of the remnant are traveling at about 13.8 million miles per hour—or about 2% of the speed of light—moving towards the bottom of the image. Meanwhile, the slowest parts are traveling towards the top at about 4 million miles per hour. This is a large difference in speed, and astronomers think it is explained by the gas that the remnant is plowing into towards the top of the image being denser than the gas towards the bottom. This gives scientists information about the environments into which this star exploded.

Supernova explosions and the elements they hurl into space are the lifeblood of new stars and planets. Understanding exactly how they behave is crucial to knowing our cosmic history.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%. NASA's total budget will become the lowest since 1961, after accounting for inflation.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe budget cuts at NASA:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF): https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Video Credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
Duration: 2 minutes, 47 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 6, 2026

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