14 DAY TRIAL // Using data from the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers were recently able to observe the unusual galactic supernova remnant (SNR) called 3C 397, or G41.1-0.3. What sets this cosmic object apart from others in its class is its unusual shape.
Investigators believe that this shape is produced by the interactions between the superheated remnants of the former star and the cooler gas surrounding the formation. Powerful winds push the hot material into much cooler areas, creating the remnant's trademark, box-like appearance.
Such structures are produced when massive or supermassive stars reach the end of their burning cycle, and become incapable of sustaining further nuclear fusion. At that point, they blow up in bright supernova events, which produce vast amounts of energy and disintegrate the stars.
In this particular image, X-ray wavelengths picked up by Chandra are colored in purple. Additional data from the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope are colored in yellow, while data from the Digitized Sky Survey appear in blue, red and green.