Universe Today » Chandra

Neutron Star at Core of Cas A Has Carbon Atmosphere

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:35:15 +0000

A Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Credit: NASA/CXC

Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) has always been an enigma. While the explosion that created this supernova was obviously a powerful event, the visual brightness of the outburst that occurred over 300 years ago was much less than a normal supernova, — and in fact, was overlooked in the 1600's — and astronomers don't know why. Another mystery is whether the explosion that produced Cas A left behind a neutron star, black hole, or nothing at all. But in 1999, astronomers discovered an unknown bright object at the core of Cas A. Now, new observations with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory show this object is a neutron star. But the enigmas don't end there: this neutron star has a carbon atmosphere. This is the first time this type of atmosphere has been detected around such a small, dense object.
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© nancy for Universe Today, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cassiopeia A, Neutron Stars, supernova

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New Chandra Deep X-ray Image of the Galactic Center

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:21:46 +0000

Chandra has done it again in creating some of the most visually stunning images of our Universe. This time, Chandra's X-ray eyes show a dramatic new vista of the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This mosaic from 88 different images exposes new levels of the complexity and intrigue in the Galactic center, providing a look at stellar evolution, from bright young stars to black holes, in a crowded, hostile environment dominated by a central, supermassive black hole.
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Trigger-Happy Star Formation in Cepheus B

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:29:53 +0000

Combining data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Spitizer Space Telescope allowed astronomers to create this gorgeous new image of Cepheus B. Besides being incredible eye candy, the new image also provides fresh insight into how some stars are born. The research shows that radiation from massive stars may trigger the formation of many more stars than previously thought.
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Post tags: Chandra, Spitzer Space Telescope

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Happy 10th Birthday, Chandra X-Ray Observatory!

Brian Ventrudo — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:16:29 +0000

Ten years ago, on July 23, 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was deployed into orbit by the space shuttle Columbia. Far exceeding its intened 5-year life span, Chandra has demonstrated an unrivaled ability to create high-resolution X- ray images, and enabled astronomers to investigate phenomena as diverse as comets, black holes, dark matter and dark energy.

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Could Ghost-Like Object Found by Chandra Be Another 'Voorwerp'?

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:41:50 +0000

The ghost of HDF 130. Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.); Optical (SDSS), Radio (STFC/JBO/MERLIN)

The Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a cosmic "ghost" lurking around a distant supermassive black hole. Astronomers think this high-energy apparition is evidence of a huge eruption produced by the black hole. But this blue blob looks eerily similar to another cosmic blob of gas found by Galaxy Zoo member Hanny Van Arkel, the famous object called Hanny's Voorwerp. Could the two objects be similar?
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25-Year Mystery of X-ray Emissions Solved

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:55:50 +0000

25 years ago, astronomers discovered diffuse X-ray emissions coming from the plane of the Milky Way, but were puzzled by the source of those emissions. The mystery has now been solved by an international team of astronomers using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These diffuse emissions do not originate from one single source but from white dwarf stars and stars with active outer gas layers.
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New Image of Jet-Driven Galactic Shock Wave is a Shocker

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:19:46 +0000

The Chandra X-ray observatory has taken a closer look at the galaxy Centaurus A, and new images have revealed in detail the effects of a shock wave blasting through the galaxy. Powerful jets of plasma emanating from a supermassive black hole at the galactic core are creating the shock wave, and the new observation, have enabled astronomers to revise dramatically their picture of how jets affect the galaxies in which they live.
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Humble Little Pulsar Puts on a Big Show

Anne Minard — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:53:41 +0000

This is a quiz.

This X-ray nebula pictured above measures 150 light-years across. At its center is a very young and powerful pulsar known as PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short.

How big is the pulsar?

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Ancient Pulsar Still Pulsing

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:20:20 +0000

It may be old, but it ain't dead. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has found the oldest isolated pulsar ever detected. While this pulsar is ancient, this exotic object is still kicking and is surprisingly active. According to radio observations, the pulsar, PSR J0108-1431 (J0108 for short) is about 200 million years old. Among isolated pulsars — ones that have not been spun-up in a binary system — it is over 10 times older than the previous record holder. A team of astronomers led by George Pavlov of Penn State University observed J0108 in X-rays with Chandra, and found that it glows much brighter in X-rays than was expected for a pulsar of such advanced years.

At a distance of 770 light years, it is also one of the nearest pulsars we know of.
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After the Storm: Measuring the Structure and Temperature of a Quiescent Neutron Star

Ian O'Neill — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:52:38 +0000

So how do you take the temperature of one of the most exotic objects in the Universe? A neutron star (~1.35 to 2.1 solar masses, measuring only 24 km across) is the remnant of a supernova after a large star has died. Although they are not massive enough become a black hole, neutron stars still accrete matter, pulling gas from a binary partner, often undergoing prolonged periods of flaring.

Fortunately, we can observe X-ray flares (using instrumentation such as Chandra), but it isn't the flare itself that can reveal the temperature or structure of a neutron star.

At the AAS conference last week, details about the results from an X-ray observing campaign of MXB 1659-29, a quasi-persistent X-ray transient source (i.e. a neutron star that flares for long periods), revealed some fascinating insights to the physics of neutron stars, showing that as the crust of a neutron star cools, the crustal composition is revealed and the temperature of these exotic supernova remnants can be measured…
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Hunt is on for "Killer" Third Star in BD+20 307 Binary System

Ian O'Neill — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:36:44 +0000

In September, it was announced the Chandra X-ray Observatory had spotted something very odd about BD+20 307. The binary system appeared to have a dusty disk surrounding it, indicative of a young, planet-forming system a fraction of the age of the Solar System. However, it was well known that the binary was actually several billion years old. It turns out that this disk was created by a rare planetary event; a cataclysmic planetary collision.

On Wednesday, at the AAS conference in Long Beach, I attended the "Extrasolar Planets" session to listen in on more results from Hubble about the exciting exoplanet discoveries in November… however, for me, the most captivating talk was about the strange, dusty old binary and the future detective work to be carried out to track down a planet killer…
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Cassiopeia A Comes Alive in 3-D Movies

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:22:59 +0000

Want to know what it's like to fly through a supernova remnant? Then, THIS, you have to see. You'll be able to experience SNR Cassiopeia A (Cas A) as never before, and see it across both time and space. Another time lapse animation shows the remnant's expansion and changes over time, and still another provides a 3-D model of Cas A. Almost ten years ago, Chandra's "First Light" image of Cas A revealed previously unseen structures and detail, and now, after eight years of observation, scientists have been able to construct these incredible animations which were presented at today's American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach, California.
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No "Big Rip" in our Future: Chandra Provides Insights Into Dark Energy

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:33:58 +0000

When you throw a ball up into the air, you expect gravity will eventually slow the ball, and it will come back down again. But what if you threw a ball up into the air and instead of coming back down, it accelerated away from you? That's basically what is happening with our universe: everything is accelerating away from everything else. This acceleration was discovered in 1998, and scientists believe "dark energy" is responsible, a form of repulsive gravity, and it composes a majority of the universe, about 72%. We don't know what it is yet, but now, for the first time, astronomers have clearly seen the effects of dark energy. Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have tracked how dark energy has stifled the growth of galaxy clusters. Combining this new data with previous studies, scientists have obtained the best clues yet about what dark energy is, confirming its existence. And there's good news, too: the expanding Universe won't rip itself apart.
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Clash of Clusters Separates Dark Matter From Ordinary Matter

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:57:39 +0000

Credit: X-ray(NASA/CXC/Stanford/S.Allen); Optical/Lensing(NASA/STScI/UC Santa Barbara/M.Bradac)

A powerful collision of galaxy clusters captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory provides evidence for dark matter and insight into its properties. Observations of the cluster known as MACS J0025.4-1222 indicate that a titanic collision has separated dark matter from ordinary matter. The images also provide an independent confirmation of a similar effect detected previously in a region called the Bullet Cluster. Like the Bullet Cluster, this newly studied cluster shows a clear separation between dark and ordinary matter.
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How do you Weigh a Supermassive Black Hole? Take its Temperature

Ian O'Neill — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:30:53 +0000

Working out the mass of huge black holes, like the ones hiding in the centre of galactic nuclei, is no easy task and attempts are being made to find novel ways to weigh them. Using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, two scientists have confirmed a theory they conceived ten years ago, that the supermassive black holes in the centre of galaxies strongly influence the nature of the gases surrounding them. So, acting like a remote thermometer, Chandra is being used to probe deep into the neighbourhood of these exotic objects, gauging their masses very accurately…
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X-Ray Flare Echo Reveals Supermassive Black Hole Torus

Ian O'Neill — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:39:13 +0000

The light echo of an X-ray flare from the nucleus of a galaxy has been observed. The flare almost certainly originates from a single star being gravitationally ripped apart by a supermassive black hole in the galactic core. As the star was being pulled into the black hole, its material was injected into the black hole accretion disk, causing a sudden burst of radiation. The resulting X-ray flare emission was observed as it hit local stellar gases, producing the light echo. This event gives us a better insight to how stars are eaten by supermassive black holes and provides a method to map the structure of galactic nuclei. Scientists now believe they have observational evidence for the elusive molecular torus that is thought to surround active supermassive black holes.
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Light Echos from 400 Year Old Supernova Observed for the First Time (Time-lapse Video)

Ian O'Neill — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:05:45 +0000

Its observations like these that really give us an idea about how big the cosmos actually is. A star in a small galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), some 160,000 light years from Earth, exploded as a massive supernova 400 years ago (Earth years that is). Combining the observations from an X-ray observatory and an optical telescope, scientists are currently observing the reflected light off galactic dust, only just reaching the Earth hundreds of years after the explosion…
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Pulsars are Exploding Unexpectedly and "Magnetars" Might be to Blame

Ian O'Neill — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:34:16 +0000

Pulsars are fast-spinning, highly radiating neutron stars. Most pulsars emit radio, X-ray and gamma radiation at regular intervals (usually periods of a few milliseconds to a few seconds), in fact many pulses keep the accuracy of the most accurate atomic clocks on Earth. However, occasionally, these rapidly rotating bodies undergo a violent change, blasting massive quantities of energy into space. Although short-lived (a fraction of a second), the observed explosion packs a punch of at least 75,000 Suns. Is this a natural process in the life of a pulsar? Is it a totally different type of cosmic phenomena? Researchers suggest these observations may be a different type of neutron star: magnetars disguised as pulsars (and without an ounce of dark matter in sight!)…
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Researchers Find a Supernova, Before it Exploded

Fraser Cain — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:19:28 +0000

The problem with supernovae is that you never know where they're going to happen. Your only clue is the bright flash in the sky, and then it's too late. But a team of European researchers think they were lucky enough to have spotted the precursor to supernova.
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Galactic Black Hole Fires a Jet at a Nearby Neighbour

Fraser Cain — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:34:14 +0000

Ouch, that's going to leave a mark. A new photograph captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory shows a powerful jet blasting out of one galaxy, and colliding with another. As the jet tears through the galaxy, it could have serious implications for planetary formation, and trigger a wave of new star formation.
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Neutron Star Seen Hurtling Out of the Milky Way

Fraser Cain — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:34:45 +0000

Like a baseball struck by a bat, there's a neutron star out there that's going, going, gone. Discovered using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the neutron star appears to be the result of a lopsided supernova explosion. It's now hurtling away from the Milky Way faster than 4.8 million km/h (3 million mph). And it's never coming back.
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Chandra Sees Star Formation in NGC 281

Fraser Cain — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:05:51 +0000

Here's a short little post about the star forming nebula NGC 281, captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This photograph is actually a composite of several wavelengths, imaged by ground and space-based observatories.

The optical data (red, orange and yellow) shows the clouds of gas and dust, and the dark lanes of obscuring dust where stars may be forming. The Chandra X-Ray data is in purple, and reveals more than 300 individual X-ray sources – most of them are associated with the central star forming region.

There's another group of X-ray sources on the other side of the molecular cloud. Based on the elements in the region, astronomers think that a supernova went off in the region recently.

But really, it's a pretty picture.

Original Source: Chandra News Release

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Chandra Sees the Death of a Star in Detail

Fraser Cain — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:33:24 +0000

This absolutely beautiful object has a big of a bizarre name: G292.0+1.8. But don't let that astronomical jargon throw you, you're looking at a supernova remnant, captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory and ground-based observatories. It's considered a textbook example of what remains after a massive star blows itself apart as a supernova. But it's got a few surprises too.
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Hubble and Chandra View the Orion Nebula Together

Fraser Cain — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:07:59 +0000

It's not a huge story, just some cool science and a pretty picture. Here's a newly released image of the Orion Nebula, captured by two of the great observatories: the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. The bright blue and orange points are young stars, blazing out the X-rays visible to Chandra, while the diffuse glow is the surrounding gas and dust revealed by Hubble.
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Supernovae Blowing Superbubbles in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Fraser Cain — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:57:10 +0000

At a distance of only 200,000 light years, the Small Magellanic Cloud is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbours. Thanks to its brutal treatment by our galaxy's gravity, the galaxy has massive regions of active star formation, and regular supernova explosions. Astronomers studied the region with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and saw superbubbles formed by stars and supernovae working together.
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