Photo: "Light Echo" Helps Solve Supernova Mystery

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A false-color image shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The picture combines infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red), visible data from the Hubble Space Telescope (yellow), and x-ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (green and blue).

In a study released May 29, 2008, scientists describe how they finally determined the nature of the stellar explosion responsible for Cassiopeia A using the fledgling technique of "light echoes."

Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/ Science

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