Still Images from 3D Visualizations
Credit: IC443 Simulation: INAF/S. Ustamujic et al.; X-ray data: NASA/CXC/MSFC/D.Swartz et al.; VR model: NASA/CXC/Brown Univ./A.Dupuis et al.

A new model of the IC 443 supernova remnant is part of a collection of 3D objects from Chandra now available on a platform from the Smithsonian Institution called Voyager, which enables datasets to be used as tools for learning and discovery. There are several versions of the IC 443 model to explore.

This first still image of IC 443 data in 3D is from the model that was optimized for virtual reality. It shows the blast wave of the explosion (bright blue) as well as the outer layers of the star (reds and oranges). In the center, Chandra's data reveal a nebula of particles and energy around the neutron star (cyan), the dense object left behind after the star collapsed.

The second still is from Ustamujic and colleagues. The shock wave (gray) and the remains of the star (red, yellow, green, and blue) have collided with the gas cloud and are now passing through it. The different colors for the star's remains show the range of velocities for their motion away from the center of the explosion. The model is combined with a visible light image of this field of view from the Focal Pointe Observatory, a private telescope run by amateur astronomer Bob Franke.

The third still is from the Smithsonian Voyager platform, in which the 3D model has been transformed so that it is more suitable for augmented reality as well as 3D printing, which requires connected structures. The Voyager IC 443 has the central region of the debris field in blue with the shockwave in purple.