# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DFlnvFZsMUb
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35582241-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/80f2ee5fa2.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-02-01T22:50:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** J.L.Lopez (@xandler80) — https://gondola.cc/xandler80

## Caption

Cassiopeia A: A supernova’s light echoes ✨

Explore the incredible beauty and science behind one of the most famous supernova remnants in the sky—Cassiopeia A (Cas A)—through this carousel. From time-lapse videos to detailed observations, the esawebb reveals the secrets of these spectacular light echoes. Let’s dive in! 

1. Time-lapse of light echo evolution: This mesmerising time-lapse shows the incredible expansion of a light echo over just a few weeks—a blink of an eye in cosmic terms! Light echoes form when the flash of a star’s explosion lights up surrounding interstellar dust, creating glowing, ever-expanding patterns. Webb’s precision brings this dynamic cosmic dance to life.

2. Shimmering curtains of interstellar dust: Behold the “thermal light echoes” near Cassiopeia A: glowing gas and dust heated by the shockwaves of an ancient supernova. Webb captured this phenomenon multiple times, essentially creating a 3D scan of the interstellar material. Each glowing ripple tells a story of the light’s journey through space at the speed of light!

3. Context from Spitzer to Webb: This background image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (2008) reveals earlier observations of light echoes around Cassiopeia A. While Spitzer provided the first glimpse, Webb’s unparalleled resolution offers unprecedented detail. Insets show Webb’s close-up of the light echoes and its 2023 image of the central supernova remnant.

Cassiopeia A’s light echoes remind us of the incredible scale and beauty of the Universe, where even the echoes of past events can illuminate new cosmic mysteries. Which detail amazed you the most?

📹 NASA, europeanspaceagency, canadianspaceagency, space_telescopes, Jacob Jencson (caltech_ipac), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
📸 NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (IPAC-Caltech)
📸 Spitzer Image: NASA/nasajpl-caltechedu/Y. Kim (uarizona/uchicago)
Cassiopeia A Inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (lifeatpurdue), Ilse De Looze (ugent), Tea Temim (princeton)

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- **Likes:** 14,699
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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Producer |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Publisher |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |

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