All articles tagged with #pulsar wind nebula
Hubble Space Telescope returns to the Crab Nebula after 25 years, documenting its rapid expansion (about 5.5 million km/h) and the evolving filaments driven by a central pulsar wind and synchrotron radiation, not just shock waves. The 2024 observations deepen our understanding of this supernova remnant, with findings published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The Hubble Space Telescope revisits the Crab Nebula, 6,500 light-years away, to trace 25 years of expansion. The new high-resolution images show peripheral filaments moving outward at about 5.5 million kilometers per hour and reveal a more detailed 3D structure, with color and brightness changes tied to local temperature, density, and composition. The study, comparing with the 1999 data and complemented by multiwavelength work including Webb’s 2024 infrared observations, will help scientists better understand the ongoing aftermath of the SN 1054 explosion. The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revisited the Crab Nebula, producing a 2024 image that, when paired with 1999 data, reveals the remnant's 25-year expansion and evolving filaments driven by the central pulsar wind. The study shows outward motion of filaments at about 3.4 million miles per hour and highlights how Hubble's longevity and upgraded instruments enable detailed 3D insights when combined with multiwavelength observations, including JWST, with findings published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Researchers at Michigan State University have identified a pulsar wind nebula associated with a cosmic ray accelerator, providing new insights into the origins of galactic cosmic rays and their connection to high-energy astrophysical phenomena, with future plans to link these findings to neutrino detections.
Recent studies by Michigan State University astrophysicists have identified a pulsar wind nebula as a source of galactic cosmic rays, bringing scientists closer to understanding their origins, which may include black holes, supernova remnants, and star-forming regions.
Astronomers have used XMM-Newton, Chandra, and NuSTAR space telescopes to investigate the nature of a newly-discovered very-high-energy source, 2FHL J1745.1–3035, and found that it may be a powerful pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The source, located near the Galactic center, exhibits hard gamma-ray spectrum and is a TeV emitter. Analysis of X-ray properties suggests that it is compact with extended emission, and its broadband X-ray spectrum is best-fitted with a broken power law model. If confirmed, this would be one of the hardest PWNe ever detected in X-rays and the hardest in gamma-rays.
Astronomers using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) have captured images of a ghostly hand-shaped pulsar wind nebula, known as MSH 15-52, located roughly 16,000 light-years away. The X-ray data reveals the magnetic field lines that shape the nebula, resembling the bones in a human hand. The observations also uncovered previously unknown X-ray jets contributing to the spread of material.
NASA has released haunting images of a giant bony hand-like structure swirling around the Milky Way, known as the "ghostly cosmic hand." The images captured by NASA's telescopes reveal the remnants of a star that collapsed 1,500 years ago, forming a neutron star called MSH 15-52. The hand-like structure is composed of plumes of particles of energized matter and anti-matter, fluctuating in an intense wind 16,000 light-years from Earth. The images provide insights into the magnetic field and behavior of pulsars, serving as particle accelerators. These eerie pictures come shortly after NASA shared images of a Picasso-esque face on Jupiter.
NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has captured an eerie image of a pulsar wind nebula resembling a ghostly skeleton hand floating in space, located 16,000 light-years away from Earth. The X-ray observation provides insights into the interaction between magnetic fields in pulsar wind nebulas and their surroundings, revealing the life history of energetic matter and antimatter particles around the pulsar. This Halloween-worthy image showcases the fascinating and spooky wonders of the universe.
NASA has released stunning images of a pulsar wind nebula known as MSH 15-52, which resembles the "bones of a ghostly cosmic hand." These images, captured by NASA's telescopes, show a massive, four-fingered outstretched hand swirling around the Milky Way. The nebula is the remnants of a collapsed giant star that formed a neutron star 1,500 years ago. The images are helping scientists understand the behavior of pulsars and the magnetic field within the nebula.
NASA's Chandra and IXPE telescopes have provided groundbreaking insights into the magnetic "bones" of the hand-shaped pulsar wind nebula, MSH 15-52. By combining data from both telescopes, astronomers have obtained the first map of the magnetic field in the nebula, revealing high levels of X-ray polarization and a remarkably straight and uniform magnetic field. The IXPE data also show a bright X-ray jet directed from the pulsar to the "wrist" of the hand, with the polarization increasing as the magnetic field lines straighten. This research sheds light on the formation and dynamics of pulsar wind nebulae and offers a unique glimpse into extreme physics conditions.
NASA's X-ray telescopes, including the newly launched Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), have observed a pulsar wind nebula called MSH 15-52, which resembles a human hand. The telescopes have revealed the magnetic field "bones" of this cosmic hand-shaped structure, providing insights into the behavior of a collapsed star and the injection of particles into space. The X-ray data show high levels of polarization in certain regions, indicating straight and uniform magnetic fields. These findings shed light on the formation of pulsars and their role as particle accelerators.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) have combined their imaging powers to reveal the magnetic field "bones" of a hand-shaped structure in space known as MSH 15-52, a pulsar wind nebula located 16,000 light-years from Earth. The IXPE data provides the first map of the magnetic field in the nebula, showing that regions with high polarization have straight and uniform magnetic fields, while turbulent regions exhibit low polarization. These findings shed light on the behavior of particles and antimatter around pulsars, providing insights into how pulsars can act as particle accelerators. Similar magnetic fields have also been detected in the Vela and Crab pulsar wind nebulae, suggesting their prevalence in these objects.
NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft has mapped the magnetic field of the Crab Nebula in greater detail than ever before, revealing unexpected patches and asymmetrical areas of turbulence. The Crab Nebula is the remnant of a massive supernova explosion that occurred in the year 1054 and left behind a dense object called the Crab Pulsar. The IXPE space telescope is designed to examine the polarization of cosmic X-rays, and by measuring the polarization of X-rays from the Crab Nebula, the researchers were able to map the direction of the magnetic field in different parts of the nebula.
NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has created a detailed map of the Crab Nebula's magnetic field, revealing more of its inner workings than ever before. The new results help resolve longstanding mysteries about the well-studied Crab Nebula and open new questions for future study. IXPE data show that the Crab Nebula's magnetic field resembles that of the Vela Pulsar Wind Nebula, which is also donut-shaped. But at the Crab, scientists were surprised that areas of magnetic field turbulence were more patchy and asymmetrical than expected.