Tour: NASA's Chandra Releases New 3D Models of Cosmic Objects
(Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/A.Jubett)
[Runtime: 02:56]

With closed-captions (at YouTube)

New three-dimensional, or 3D, models of objects in space have been released by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. These 3D models allow people to view — and print — examples of stars in the early and end stages of their lives.

These 3D models are based on state-of-the-art theoretical models, computational algorithms, and observations from space-based telescopes like Chandra that give us accurate pictures of these cosmic objects and how they evolve over time.

However, looking at images and animations is not the only way to experience these data. The four new 3D printable models of Cassiopeia A, G292.0+1.8, and Cygnus Loop supernova remnants and the star known as BP Tau let us experience the celestial objects in the form of physical structures that will allow anyone to hold replicas of these stars and their surroundings and examine them from all angles.

In Cassiopeia A, astronomers combined X-rays from Chandra and infrared data from the James Webb Space Telescope to shed light on the origin of a mysterious structure they dubbed Green Monster. This revealed new insights into the explosion that created Cas A about 340 years ago, from Earth’s perspective.

By creating a 3D model of the G292 system, astronomers have been able to examine the asymmetrical shape of the remnant that can be explained by a reverse shock wave moving back toward the original explosion. This helps them better understand this rare type of supernova explosion that contains large amounts of oxygen.

The Cygnus Loop, also known as the Veil Nebula, is a supernova remnant, the remains of the explosive death of a massive star. This 3D model is the result of a simulation describing the interaction of a blast wave from the explosion with an isolated cloud of the dust and gas in between the stars.

Finally, a 3D model shows a star less than 10 million years old that is surrounded by a disk of material. This object, called BP Tau, has flares that interact with a disk of material surrounding this infant star. Looking at BP Tau gives us insight into our own Sun billions of years ago.

Quick Look: NASA's Chandra Releases New 3D Models of Cosmic Objects
(Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/A.Jubett)
[Runtime: 00:45]

With narration (video above with voiceover)

New 3D models of objects in space from NASA’s Chandra and others are being released.

These 3D models are based on observational data, combined with computer modeling.

This gives astronomers — and us — the ability to fly around objects in space many millions of miles away.

The objects in the new collection include three supernova remnants and a young star.

Cassiopeia A, 2025 Model
(Credit: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo/Salvatore Orlando)
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➤ Navigate & interact with this 3D model (at Sketchfab)

The colored shape marks the distribution of iron about 350 years after the supernova explosion that created the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. The colors represent different velocities throughout the remnant. The green and yellow surfaces show the forward and reverse shocks respectively. The transparent image passing through the center of the remnant is X-ray data (from Chandra) of actual observations of the remnant.

G292.0+1.8 Model
(Credit: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo/Salvatore Orlando)
[Runtime: 00:15]

The colors in this model show the ejecta toward Earth from a supernova explosion such as G292 moving toward the viewer (blue) and away (red). Astronomers have interpreted the asymmetry of the supernova remnant being the result of some lopsided property of the explosion itself, leading to this shape some 2,000 years later.

BP Tau Model
(Credit: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo/Salvatore Orlando)
[Runtime: 00:15]

A young accreting star (center) is surrounded by an accretion disk (blue). The age of the star is less than about ten million years. This star, called BP Tau, belongs to a class of objects known as T Tauri stars. The model shows powerful bursts of energy—called flares—happening near the disk. These flares heat the area to over 10 million degrees and create hot loops of gas (red-orange) that stretch between the star and its disk. They also disturb the disk, causing streams of material to fall onto the star.

Cygnus Loop Model
(Credit: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo/Salvatore Orlando)
[Runtime: 00:15]

➤ Navigate & interact with this 3D model (at Sketchfab)

This is a simulation showing the interaction of a blast wave with an isolated cloud of the interstellar medium. The shocked cloud is at the center of the scene and is clipped so the viewer can see the internal structure. The color indicates the distribution of mass density highest (red) and lowest (blue). The streamlines indicate the direction of plasma flow. The cloud is heated up to temperatures of tens of million degrees by the blast wave. The shock may have been generated by a supernova explosion or by the fast wind from a nearby massive star.

Cassiopeia A, 2023 Model
(Credit: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo/Salvatore Orlando)
[Runtime: 00:15]

A massive star may end its life in a giant explosion known as a supernova, and the resulting structure is known as a supernova remnant. By modeling this supernova remnant in three dimensions, Orlando and his collaborators have shown that the massive clumps that developed soon after the star's explosion are likely responsible for the asymmetrical shape of Cas A. They calculated the kinetic energy (energy of motion) and masses of iron, silicon and sulfur involved in the explosion that could have been seen from Earth about 340 years ago.

Cassiopeia A, "Green Monster" Model
(Credit: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo/Salvatore Orlando)
[Runtime: 00:15]

In this second model of Cassiopeia A, the remains of an exploded star, a strange structure nicknamed the 'Green Monster,' is revealed and studied thanks to observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, as well as Chandra. The lumpy, ringed feature likely formed when clumps of debris from the explosion slammed into uneven material around the star, creating the pockmarked shape we see in the model.