clipped from: www.abc.net.au An object thought to a faraway galaxy is actually the youngest and brightest supernova remnant in the Milky Way, according to a new study.
The team led, by Dr Bryan Gaensler from the University of Sydney, published their findings in the latest edition of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The object, known as G350.1-0.3, was first discovered in the 1980s, but its irregular shape led astronomers to believe it was a background galaxy.
The team used data from the European Space Agency's orbiting x-ray observatory XMM-Newton to analyse the object.
When they examined G350.1-0.3 they concluded it is an irregularly-shaped supernova remnant.
To explain its shape, the team looked at radio surveys and discovered that G350.1-0.3 had exploded next to a dense cloud of gas about 15,000 light years from earth.
"The large cloud explains why it is such an unusual shape, because the shock wave is expanding into a very unhomogeneous environment," Tanna says.