Young Supernova Remnant G306.3–0.9 | NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

Young Supernova Remnant G306.3–0.9 | NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

This image from NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is a wider view that places supernova remnant G306.3–0.9 (lower left corner) in context with star-formation regions in the southern Centaurus constellation. For over two decades, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has been one of our most reliable cosmic first responders—racing to catch gamma ray bursts, unmasking black holes in action, and teaming up with missions like NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), and NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to uncover examples of the universe’s most dramatic events.

Distance from Earth: ~26,000 light years 

In this image, data from Swift and Chandra reveal a stunning view of a young supernova remnant—a swirling landscape of glowing gas, dust, and high energy x-ray emission. This composite image helped astronomers study how massive stars live, die, and reshape their surroundings, and it stands as one of many examples of Swift’s role in decoding the high energy universe.

Cornelis A. "Neil" Gehrels (1952–2017) was an American astrophysicist specializing in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. He was Chief of the Astroparticle Physics Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) from 1995 until his death, and was best known for his work developing the field from early balloon instruments to space observatories, such as the NASA Swift mission, for which he was the principal investigator. In 2018, NASA announced that Swift had been renamed the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, in his honor.

Even as Swift's mission winds down, its science will not be. Swift will leave behind a treasure trove of data—terabytes of discoveries that astronomers will continue studying for years to come.

Learn more about the Swift Mission:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/

Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Michigan/M. Reynolds et al; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA

Image Date: Feb. 22, 2011
Release Date: Oct. 21, 2026

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