Best astronomy image yet of supernova remnants

Led by researchers at Macquarie University and Italy’s National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), a portion of our Galaxy has been imaged in detail so great, we may be able to answer long-standing questions about the Milky Way’s stars.

A new radio astronomy image, created using the strengths of Australia’s two greatest radio telescopes, marks a stellar start to the new year. The image, which showcases the places of star births and deaths, is the most detailed radio image yet of our galaxy.

Radio observations of a large section of the galactic plane of the Milky Way were conducted with the ASKAP radio telescope and the Parkes radio telescope, Murriyang, both owned and operated by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, as part of the PEGASUS and EMU surveys. This is the first joint image to be released by the survey teams and its clarity hints that this survey may be able to answer the question, “where are all the supernova remnants?”.