A string of pearls was circling the supernova remnant that glows 6 trillion miles in diameter. The gas ring likely was shed some 20,000 years before the supernova exploded, and shock waves rushing out from the remnant have been brightening some 30 to 40 pearl-like "hot spots" in the ring -- objects that likely grow and merge together in the coming years to form a continous, glowing cricle.
