Supernova remnant N132D
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One of the brightest soft X-ray sources in the Large Magellanic
Cloud is the supernova remnant N132D. Observations with XMM-Newton's
Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS), complemented by
images taken by the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) have
provided highly resolved X-ray spectra of this extended supernova
remnant. In the narrow wavelength bands indicated, each EPIC-MOS
image maps the distribution of nine different elements.
Differences between more and less ionised regions can be noted.
Oxygen rich gas is present in an area to the northeastern part of
the remnant, where no other elements are emitting X-rays. This may
either be relatively cold gas, or is the result of the supernova
shockwave interacting with oxygen-rich stellar winds before the
stellar explosion. Image courtesy of E. Behar, Columbia Univ., NY,
USA.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
