Gemini North spots 'pearls on a string' in supernova remnant Pa 30

Astronomers captured the sharpest images yet of the Pa 30 supernova remnant, left by an explosion about 850 years ago: its smooth-looking filaments are tight chains of gas knots. Gemini North resolved roughly ten times more filaments than before, and the surviving star sits almost exactly at the nebula's center.

• Pa 30 is the only known Milky Way remnant of a Type Iax supernova
• Gemini North images resolved about 10 times more filaments than earlier views
• The surviving star shows a very small transverse kick speed
• Pa 30 lies about 7,500 light-years from Earth