The abrupt appearance of the new features suggests that matter from the stellar blast wave itself has begun to slam into the ring in earnest, shock-heating the gas and producing the bright hotspots. The left-hand picture shows the glowing ring, initially excited by light from the explosion, along with the shocked hotspots. The right-hand picture has been further computer enhanced to emphasize the hotspots. The brightest spot at the right was first observed in 1997, while the four spots on the left half of the ring are new. Astronomers now eagerly anticipate a dramatic rejuvenation of the glowing ring as the bulk of the blast wave material, traveling at about 60 million kilometers per hour, continues to plow into it.
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