Cosmic light seen by space telescope
Sunday, April 5, 2009
A small, dense object only 20 kilometers in diameter is responsible for the creation of an enormous X-ray nebula, stretching 150 light years. This cloud (and its central source of power) are now observed by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The central power is a very young and powerful pulsar, known as PSR B1509-58. A pulsar is a rapidly around curdling neutron star that beams of radiation emissions, which complex structures can arise.
The colors that are visible on the image are of course not true colors - it is in fact X-ray radiation. The different colors represent X-ray radiation of different intensity and energy. For example, red for the less energetic X-rays, green for the middle range, and blue for the X-ray radiation with the most energy. B1509 Astronomers believe that about 1700 years old and at a distance of 17,000 light years.
Neutron stars occur when massive stars run out of their fuel and under their own weight to collapse. The core of the star is compressed into a neutron star, while the rest of the star with a lot of violence is blown into space (supernova). B1509 turns per second seven times in the round, with enormous energy is released. This is probably caused by the intense magnetic field of the pulsar, which is about 15 trillion times stronger than Earth's magnetic field.
The energy that is emitted by the pulsar is in collision with the interstellar medium, where the striking cloud observed by Chandra is produced. This nebula shows remarkable agreement with the famous Crab Nebula, although the mist of B1509 fifteen times greater.
In the inner parts of the nebula is a bright circular visible, which indicates the location of the strong winds of the pulsar is slowed down by the slowly expanding nebula. The "fingers" of the cosmic hand stretch out to the nearby gas clouds RCW89, as a result of the radiation is clear to light (of course, X-ray wavelengths in visible light will not be shown).
Written by Olaf van Kooten
Original Source: Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Translated version of http://www.star-people.nl/index.php?module=news&id=151
Translated version of http://www.astrostart.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1571&Itemid=1
Source: astrostart.nl
Sunday, April 5, 2009
A small, dense object only 20 kilometers in diameter is responsible for the creation of an enormous X-ray nebula, stretching 150 light years. This cloud (and its central source of power) are now observed by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The central power is a very young and powerful pulsar, known as PSR B1509-58. A pulsar is a rapidly around curdling neutron star that beams of radiation emissions, which complex structures can arise.
The colors that are visible on the image are of course not true colors - it is in fact X-ray radiation. The different colors represent X-ray radiation of different intensity and energy. For example, red for the less energetic X-rays, green for the middle range, and blue for the X-ray radiation with the most energy. B1509 Astronomers believe that about 1700 years old and at a distance of 17,000 light years.
Neutron stars occur when massive stars run out of their fuel and under their own weight to collapse. The core of the star is compressed into a neutron star, while the rest of the star with a lot of violence is blown into space (supernova). B1509 turns per second seven times in the round, with enormous energy is released. This is probably caused by the intense magnetic field of the pulsar, which is about 15 trillion times stronger than Earth's magnetic field.
The energy that is emitted by the pulsar is in collision with the interstellar medium, where the striking cloud observed by Chandra is produced. This nebula shows remarkable agreement with the famous Crab Nebula, although the mist of B1509 fifteen times greater.
In the inner parts of the nebula is a bright circular visible, which indicates the location of the strong winds of the pulsar is slowed down by the slowly expanding nebula. The "fingers" of the cosmic hand stretch out to the nearby gas clouds RCW89, as a result of the radiation is clear to light (of course, X-ray wavelengths in visible light will not be shown).
Written by Olaf van Kooten
Original Source: Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Translated version of http://www.star-people.nl/index.php?module=news&id=151
Translated version of http://www.astrostart.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1571&Itemid=1
Source: astrostart.nl
