There is a neutron star there. For neutron stars to exist, there had to be a supernova. This particular neutron star is a pulsar. Impressed? If not, I would advise you to click on those links. If you really don’t want to do that, then I can summarize:
In the middle of that image you see something the size of London of which a spoonful, placed at a height above the Earth’s surface, would make your dear little planet come up to meet it, not the other way round. It was created during one of the most violent explosions possible in the universe. Oh, and it rotates once every 33 milliseconds.
The Chinese saw the explosion itself in 1054 AD. We see what’s left.
Now read this: Everybody says I’m a genius
Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble Space Telescope
Image source: http://hubblesite.org/image/3760/gallery
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