An international team of astronomers has employed various satellites and ground-based telescopes to perform multiwavelength observations of a supernova remnant known as SNR J0450.4−7050. Results of the observational campaign, published June 18 on the pre-print server arXiv, yield new insights into the properties of this remnant, finding that it is much larger than previously thought.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are diffuse, expanding structures resulting from a supernova explosion, which usually last several hundred thousand years before dispersing into the interstellar medium (ISM). Observations show that SNRs contain ejected material expanding from the explosion and other interstellar material that has been swept up by the passage of the shockwave from the exploded star.

Studies of SNRs beyond the Milky Way are crucial for understanding their feedback in different evolutionary phases and gaining insights into their local ISM. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is one of the galaxies that has its SNR population explored in detail.