#PencilNebula | This shock wave plows through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour. Moving toward to bottom of this beautifully detailed color composite, the thin, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge on. About 5 light-years long and a mere 800 light-years away, the Pencil Nebula is only a small part of the #VelaSupernovaRemnant.
