Gum Nebula

The very closest supernova we know of is one that left behind the vast Gum nebula.

Ahead lay the Gum Nebula, and the seductive beckoning of the Unknown.

Gum Nebula (Gum 12) is an emission nebula that extends across 40 in the southern constellations Vela and Puppis.

Harold Corwin adds that on the ESO IIIa-F film this nebula is the brightest patch of a huge supernova remnant (Gum Nebula) whose delicate whisps cover the field.

At its heart was the Vela OB2 Association, one of the biggest, liveliest star-formation zones in the Orion Arm, and the source of the energy which excited the Gum Nebula's hydrogen into luminescence, like the candle inside a Japanese paper lantern.