Vela supernova remnant, composite image. These thin strands of nebulosity are the remains of a star which ended its life as an enormous supernova explosion around 11,000 years ago. The remnant lies about 900 light years from Earth in the constellation of Vela, and covers an area of the sky almost 10 Moon widths across. Almost at the centre of this large shell of gas is pulsar 0833-45, a rapidly spinning neutron star believed to be the surviving core of the original star.