Andrew Yee[_1_]
November 13th 07, 01:11 AM
Jennifer Morcone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/544-7199)
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass.
(Phone: 617/496-7998)
For Release: October 23, 2007
Stellar Forensics with Striking Image from Chandra
A spectacular new image shows how complex a star's afterlife can be. By
studying the details of this image made from a long observation by NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers can better understand how some stars
die and disperse elements like oxygen into the next generation of stars and
planets.
At a distance of about 20,000 light years, G292.0+1.8 is one of only three
supernova remnants in the Milky Way known to contain large amounts of
oxygen. The image shows a rapidly expanding, intricately structured, debris
field that contains, along with oxygen, other elements such as neon and
silicon that were forged in the star before it exploded.
"We are finding that, just like snowflakes, each supernova remnant is
complicated and beautiful in its own way," said Sangwook Park of Penn State
who led the work, released in conjunction with the "8 Years of Chandra"
symposium in Huntsville, Ala.
The new, deep Chandra image -- equaling nearly 6 days worth of observing
time -- shows an incredibly complex structure. Understanding the details of
G292.0+1.8 is especially important because astronomers have considered it to
be a "textbook" case of a supernova created by the death of a massive star.
By mapping the distribution of X-rays in different energy bands, the Chandra
image traces the distribution of chemical elements ejected in the supernova.
The results imply that the explosion was not symmetrical. For example, blue
(silicon and sulfur) and green (magnesium) are seen strongly in the upper
right, while yellow and orange (oxygen) dominate the lower left. These
elements light up at different temperatures, indicating that the temperature
is higher in the upper right portion of G292.0+1.8.
Slightly below and to the left of the center of G292.0+1.8 is a pulsar, a
dense, rapidly rotating neutron star that remained behind after the original
star exploded. Assuming that the pulsar was born at the center of the
remnant, it is thought that recoil from the lopsided explosion may have
kicked the pulsar in this direction.
Surrounding the pulsar is a so-called pulsar wind nebula, a magnetized
bubble of high-energy particles. The narrow, jet-like feature running from
north to south in the image is likely parallel to the spin axis of the
pulsar. This structure is most easily seen in high energy X-rays. In the
case of G292.0+1.8, the spin direction and the kick direction do not appear
to be aligned, in contrast to apparent spin-kick alignments in some other
supernova remnants.
Another intriguing feature of this remnant is the bright equatorial belt of
X-ray emission that extends across the center of the remnant. This structure
is thought to have been created when the star -- before it died -- expelled
material from around its equator via winds. The orientation of the
equatorial belt suggests that the parent star maintained the same spin axis
both before and after it exploded.
"The detection of the pulsar and its wind nebula confirms that the supernova
that led to G292 produced a neutron star through the collapse of the core of
a massive star," said coauthor John Hughes of Rutgers University, "The
ability to study the asymmetry of the original explosion using X-ray images
of the remnant gives us a powerful new technique for learning about these
cataclysmic events."
These results will appear in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal
Letters. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the
Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations
from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.
Additional information and images are available at:
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/g292/
and
http://chandra.nasa.gov
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/544-7199)
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass.
(Phone: 617/496-7998)
For Release: October 23, 2007
Stellar Forensics with Striking Image from Chandra
A spectacular new image shows how complex a star's afterlife can be. By
studying the details of this image made from a long observation by NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers can better understand how some stars
die and disperse elements like oxygen into the next generation of stars and
planets.
At a distance of about 20,000 light years, G292.0+1.8 is one of only three
supernova remnants in the Milky Way known to contain large amounts of
oxygen. The image shows a rapidly expanding, intricately structured, debris
field that contains, along with oxygen, other elements such as neon and
silicon that were forged in the star before it exploded.
"We are finding that, just like snowflakes, each supernova remnant is
complicated and beautiful in its own way," said Sangwook Park of Penn State
who led the work, released in conjunction with the "8 Years of Chandra"
symposium in Huntsville, Ala.
The new, deep Chandra image -- equaling nearly 6 days worth of observing
time -- shows an incredibly complex structure. Understanding the details of
G292.0+1.8 is especially important because astronomers have considered it to
be a "textbook" case of a supernova created by the death of a massive star.
By mapping the distribution of X-rays in different energy bands, the Chandra
image traces the distribution of chemical elements ejected in the supernova.
The results imply that the explosion was not symmetrical. For example, blue
(silicon and sulfur) and green (magnesium) are seen strongly in the upper
right, while yellow and orange (oxygen) dominate the lower left. These
elements light up at different temperatures, indicating that the temperature
is higher in the upper right portion of G292.0+1.8.
Slightly below and to the left of the center of G292.0+1.8 is a pulsar, a
dense, rapidly rotating neutron star that remained behind after the original
star exploded. Assuming that the pulsar was born at the center of the
remnant, it is thought that recoil from the lopsided explosion may have
kicked the pulsar in this direction.
Surrounding the pulsar is a so-called pulsar wind nebula, a magnetized
bubble of high-energy particles. The narrow, jet-like feature running from
north to south in the image is likely parallel to the spin axis of the
pulsar. This structure is most easily seen in high energy X-rays. In the
case of G292.0+1.8, the spin direction and the kick direction do not appear
to be aligned, in contrast to apparent spin-kick alignments in some other
supernova remnants.
Another intriguing feature of this remnant is the bright equatorial belt of
X-ray emission that extends across the center of the remnant. This structure
is thought to have been created when the star -- before it died -- expelled
material from around its equator via winds. The orientation of the
equatorial belt suggests that the parent star maintained the same spin axis
both before and after it exploded.
"The detection of the pulsar and its wind nebula confirms that the supernova
that led to G292 produced a neutron star through the collapse of the core of
a massive star," said coauthor John Hughes of Rutgers University, "The
ability to study the asymmetry of the original explosion using X-ray images
of the remnant gives us a powerful new technique for learning about these
cataclysmic events."
These results will appear in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal
Letters. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the
Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations
from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.
Additional information and images are available at:
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/g292/
and
http://chandra.nasa.gov