Arch of Titus

Remnants of Cassiopia's supernova explosion surround the Arch of Titus in Rome, commemorating the Roman Army's destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

The son of Emperor Vespasian, Titus subdued the rebellous Jewish nation and later became Emperor in his own right. This triumphal arch was erected after his death by his brother, Emperor Domitian, and displays Roman soldiers carrying their plunder from Jerusalem on a famous stone panel inside the arch. The political implications of Rome's annihilation of the Jews reverberates today in the struggles for control over Palestine. (Arch photo in private collection circa 1880)

The explosion of this massive star occurred a hundred years before the United States was formed and is one of the youngest supernova remnants in the Milky Way Galaxy. This view by the Hubble Space Telescope allows astronomers to study how the remnants of the star were flung into space and their eventual recycling into new generations of stars and planets. ((PRC2002-15: NASA, The Hubble Heritage Team, STScI/AURA)

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