The aftermath of a massive star's death in Vela

A so-called Supernova Remnant (SNR) in the Vela constellation, captured by ESO's 1 m Schmidt Telescope at La Silla in Chile. The glowing gas ribbons seen here are part of a shock wave launched into the interstellar medium by a large star that exploded about 11,000 years ago. A "ghost" of the once-large star remains: an ultra-dense neutron star that spins more than 10 times a second, called a pulsar, is located in the central region of this SNR.