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Supernova remnant

The Spaghetti Nebula

Also Simeis 147 · Sh 2-240 · SNR G180.0-01.7

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A huge, faint shell of tangled filaments left by a supernova tens of thousands of years ago, spanning Taurus and Auriga.

Measured

Distance
4,250 light-years
Size
about 220 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Taurus
Position (J2000)
RA 5h 39m 00s, Dec +27.83°

How far, from the Sun

4,250 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light4,250 years
  • Voyager 1's speed75.5 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h45.9 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • The neutron star its explosion left, PSR J0538+2817, is still racing away from the centre.
  • It spans about 3 degrees of sky, six times the width of the full Moon.

Where this comes from

  • Chen et al. 2025, ApJ 988, 176 (1.303 ± 0.006 kpc)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.