Chandra X-ray data reveal a barrel-shaped supernova remnant around a glowing bar of intense X-radiation. These X-rays are produced by jets of 15 million degree Celsius gas that is rich in iron and nickel. These features indicate that W49B was produced when the core of a rapidly-rotating massive star collapsed to form a black hole, triggering the ejection of high-energy jets of material. The colors red, green and blue in the images correspond to low, medium and high-energy X-rays, respectively. Scale:
