Scattered debris from a cosmic supernova explosio lights up the skyin this gorgeous composited image based on data from theHubble Space Telescope.Cataloged as N49, these glowing filaments of shocked ga span about30 light-years in our neighboring galaxy, th Large Magellanic Cloud.Light from the original exploding star reached Earth thousandsof years ago, but N49 also marks the location of anotherenergetic outburst -- an extremely intenseblast of gamma-raysdetected by satellites o March5, 1979.That date was the beginning of a exciting journey in astrophysicswhich led researchers to the understanding of an exotic new class ofstars.The source of the "March 5th Event" is now attributed t amagnetar - a highly magnetized, spinning neutron star alsoborn in the ancient stellar explosion which created supernovaremnant N49.The magnetar hurtlesthrough the supernov debris cloud at over 1,200 kilometersper second.
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