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Credit: X -ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. by Hong Kong/S. Zhang et al.; Radio: ATNF/CSIRO/ATCA; H-Alpha: UK STFC/Royal Observatory Edinburgh; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Cloud
A glowing hand stretches over the cosmos, the palm of the palm and the fingers from the rubble of a massive star explosion shaped.
The scary structure is part of the Fog MSH 15-52, driven by von pulsar B1509-58-a quick rotating neutron star, which only corresponds to about 20 kilometers in diameter. By combining radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) with X -rays of The Chandra X-ray observatory of the NASAAstronomers created a new view of the fog, which encompasses over 150 light years and resembles a human hand that is known to the remains of Supernova as RCW 89, which formed the pulsar in the heart of the picture.
“MSH 15–52 and RCW 89 show many unique functions that cannot be found in other young sources” a statement From the Chandra X-ray observatory, which publishes the new compound image. “However, there are still many open questions about the formation and development of these structures.”
The fog MSH 15-52, which resembles a human hand with a palm and fingers, which shows to the right in this view from the Chandra X-ray observatory of NASA. The Pulsar B1509-58 is located near the center of the picture, a rapidly rotating neutron star, which only has a diameter of 19 km in diameter. | Credit: X -ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. by Hong Kong/S. Zhang et al.; Radio: ATNF/CSIRO/ATCA; H-Alpha: UK STFC/Royal Observatory Edinburgh; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Cloud
The central object, Pulsar B1509-58, formed when a massive star no longer had fuel and collapsed before exploding as a supernova. The Pulsar rotates almost seven times a second and has a magnetic field that is about 15 trillion times stronger than the earth. Despite its small size, it looks like a cosmic dynamo that accelerates particles into extreme energies and drives winds that carve the carving the fog in its handy shape.
The new composite picture paints the system in a remarkable color: the ATCA radio emission appears in red, Chandra’s X-rays shine in blue, orange and yellow, and optical data show hydrogen gas in gold. Where the radio and the X -ray signals overlap, they mix in purple and lift regions in which the wind of the Pulsar crashes into the area star Debris.
The recent radio data discovered sensitive filaments that were aligned with magnetic fields, probably as the pulsar wind from the star explosion into the remaining material.
Radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) show this exploded star and its surroundings. | Credit: Radio: ATNF/CSIRO/ATCA
However, some of the best-known X-ray functions- jet Near the pulsar and the light “fingers” that stretch outwards – there are no radio. Astronomers suspect that these areas may be electricity of energetic particles that escape along the magnetic field lines, similar to the shock wave of an overview aircraft.
Nearby, the Supernova Remnant RCW 89 contributes to another puzzle. The spotty radio glow overlaps with lumps that are visible in X -rays and optical light, which indicates a collision with a dense cloud of hydrogen gas. Even strange, a sharp X-ray limit, which is seen as the growing explosion wave from Supernova, does not show a radio signal-a unexpected finding for a young rest at all.
Together, MSH 15-52 and RCW 89 continue to fascinate the astronomers. While the new picture reveals new information on the exploded star and its surroundings, further research is necessary to better understand how Pulsare and Supernova debris interact to form such breathtaking cosmic structures.
Your results, the new high-resolution radio observations from MSH 15-52 and RCW 89 using MSH Published on August 20th in the astrophysical journal.