View allAll Photos Tagged NASAChandra
The largest and brightest region of star formation in the Local Group of galaxies, including the Milky Way, is called 30 Doradus (or, informally, the Tarantula Nebula). Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighbor galaxy to the Milky Way, 30 Doradus has long been studied by astronomers who want to better understand how stars like the Sun are born and evolve.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has frequently looked at 30 Doradus over the lifetime of the mission, often under the direction of Dr. Leisa Townsley who passed away in the summer of 2022. These data will continue to be collected and analyzed, providing opportunities for scientists both now and in the future to learn more about star formation and its related processes.
This new composite image combines the X-ray data from Chandra observations of 30 Doradus with an infrared image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope that was released in the fall of 2022. The X-rays (royal blue and purple) reveal gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by shock waves — similar to sonic booms from airplanes — generated by the winds from massive stars. The Chandra data also identify the remains of supernova explosions, which will ultimately send important elements such as oxygen and carbon into space where they will become part of the next generation of stars.
The infrared data from JWST (red, orange, green, and light blue) show spectacular canvases of cooler gas that provide the raw ingredients for future stars. JWST’s view also reveals “protostars,” that is, stars in their infancy, just igniting their stellar engines. The chemical composition of 30 Doradus is different from most of the nebulas found in the Milky Way. Instead it represents the conditions in our galaxy that existed several billion years ago when stars were forming at a much faster pace than astronomers see today. This, combined with its relative proximity and brightness, means that 30 Doradus provides scientists with an opportunity to learn more about how stars formed in our galaxy in the distant past.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State Univ./L. Townsley et al.; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/JWST ERO Production Team
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #STScI #ESA #jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #NASAGoddard #nebula #TarantulaNebula
Read more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Four composite images deliver dazzling views from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster. Each image combines Chandra's X-rays — a form of high-energy light — with infrared data from previously released Webb images, both of which are invisible to the unaided eye. Data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (optical light) and retired Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared), plus the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton (X-ray) and the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (optical) is also used. These cosmic wonders and details are made available by mapping the data to colors that humans can perceive.
Messier 16, also known as the Eagle Nebula, is a famous region of the sky often referred to as the “Pillars of Creation.” The Webb image shows the dark columns of gas and dust shrouding the few remaining fledgling stars just being formed. The Chandra sources, which look like dots, are young stars that give off copious amounts of X-rays. (X-ray: red, blue; infrared: red, green, blue)
Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #STScI #jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #NASAGoddard #nebula
Read more about the Chanddra X-ray Observatory
In this 2008 X-ray image, the giant elliptical galaxy M87 reveals evidence for a series of outbursts from the central supermassive black hole. The loops and bubbles in the hot, X-ray emitting gas are relics of small outbursts from close to the black hole. Other interesting features in M87 are narrow filaments of X-ray emission, which may be due to hot gas trapped by magnetic fields. One of these filaments is over 100,000 light years long, and extends below and to the right of the center of M87 in almost a straight line.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/CfA/W. Forman et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxy
Four composite images deliver dazzling views from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster. Each image combines Chandra's X-rays — a form of high-energy light — with infrared data from previously released Webb images, both of which are invisible to the unaided eye. Data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (optical light) and retired Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared), plus the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton (X-ray) and the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (optical) is also used. These cosmic wonders and details are made available by mapping the data to colors that humans can perceive.
Messier 74 is also a spiral galaxy — like our Milky Way — that we see face-on from our vantage point on Earth. It is about 32 million light-years away. Messier 74 is nicknamed the Phantom Galaxy because it is relatively dim, making it harder to spot with small telescopes than other galaxies in Charles Messier’s famous catalog from the 18th century. Webb outlines gas and dust in the infrared while Chandra data spotlights high-energy activity from stars at X-ray wavelengths. Hubble optical data showcases additional stars and dust along the dust lanes. (X-ray: purple; optical: orange, cyan, blue, infrared: green, yellow, red, magenta)
Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #STScI #jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #NASAGoddard #galaxy
Read more about the Chanddra X-ray Observatory
Using data from NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), international researchers have uncovered new information about the Tycho supernova remnant, an exploded star in the constellation Cassiopeia, the light from which was first seen on Earth in 1572. The results offer new clues about how shock waves created by these titanic stellar explosions accelerate particles to nearly the speed of light, and reveal, for the first time, the geometry of the magnetic fields close to the supernova’s blast wave, which forms a boundary around the ejected material, as seen in this composite image. IXPE data (dark purple and white) have been combined with data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (red and blue) and overlaid with the stars in the field of view as captured by the Digitized Sky Survey.
Image credit: X-ray (IXPE: NASA/ASI/MSFC/INAF/R. Ferrazzoli, et al.), (Chandra: NASA/CXC/RIKEN & GSFC/T. Sato et al.) Optical: DSS Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, L.Frattare & N.Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #supernova #supernovaremnant
Read more about NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)
The galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A) shines bright in this image combining data from multiple observatories. In the center of this galaxy is a supermassive black hole feeding off the gas and dust encircling it, and large jets of high-energy particles and other material spewing out. The jet shown at the upper left of this image extends for about 13,000 light-years away from the black hole. Also visible is a dust lane, wrapping around the middle of the galaxy, which may have resulted from a collision with a smaller galaxy millions of years ago.
Colors in this image have been chosen to reflect the sources of data. Blue shows X-ray light captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, orange represents X-rays detected by NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) satellite, and optical light seen by the European Southern Observatory in Chile is colored white and gray.
Cen A has been studied extensively since the launch of Chandra in 1999. With IXPE, which launched in 2021, scientists can understand the mysteries of this object in a new way. IXPE is specialized to look at a property of X-ray light called polarization, which relates to the organization of electromagnetic waves. This specialized measurement is helping scientists study how particles become accelerated to high energies and speeds — nearly the speed of light — at extreme cosmic objects like this one.
At Cen A, researchers using IXPE seek to understand what causes the X-ray emission in the jets. So far, scientists have not detected X-ray polarization at Cen A, indicating that particles much heavier than electrons, such as protons, are not producing the X-rays. More insights are to come as scientists analyze the data.
Cen A is found 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus and represents the fifth brightest galaxy in the sky.
Image credit: X-ray: (IXPE): NASA/MSFC/IXPE/S. Ehlert et al.; (Chandra): NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: ESO/WFI; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J.Schmidt
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #BlackHoleWeek
Read more about the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)
Four composite images deliver dazzling views from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster. Each image combines Chandra's X-rays — a form of high-energy light — with infrared data from previously released Webb images, both of which are invisible to the unaided eye. Data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (optical light) and retired Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared), plus the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton (X-ray) and the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (optical) is also used. These cosmic wonders and details are made available by mapping the data to colors that humans can perceive.
NGC 346 is a star cluster in a nearby galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. Webb shows plumes and arcs of gas and dust that stars and planets use as source material during their formation. The purple cloud on the left seen with Chandra is the remains of a supernova explosion from a massive star. The Chandra data also reveals young, hot, and massive stars that send powerful winds outward from their surfaces. Additional data from Hubble and Spitzer is included, along with supporting data from XMM-Newton and ESO’s New Technology Telescope. (X-ray: purple and blue; infrared/optical: red, green, blue)
Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #STScI #jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #NASAGoddard #starcluster
Read more about the Chanddra X-ray Observatory
Four composite images deliver dazzling views from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster. Each image combines Chandra's X-rays — a form of high-energy light — with infrared data from previously released Webb images, both of which are invisible to the unaided eye. Data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (optical light) and retired Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared), plus the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton (X-ray) and the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (optical) is also used. These cosmic wonders and details are made available by mapping the data to colors that humans can perceive.
NGC 1672 is a spiral galaxy, but one that astronomers categorize as a “barred” spiral. In regions close to their centers, the arms of barred spiral galaxies are mostly in a straight band of stars across the center that encloses the core, as opposed to other spirals that have arms that twist all the way to their core. The Chandra data reveals compact objects like neutron stars or black holes pulling material from companion stars as well as the remnants of exploded stars. Additional data from Hubble (optical light) helps fill out the spiral arms with dust and gas, while Webb data shows dust and gas in the galaxy’s spiral arms. (X-ray: purple; optical: red, green, blue; infrared: red, green, blue)
Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #STScI #jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #NASAGoddard #starcluster
Read more about the Chanddra X-ray Observatory
X-rays detected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory expose a wealth of exotic objects and high-energy features. In this 2009 image of the region around the Galactic Center, pink represents lower energy X-rays and blue indicates higher energy. Hundreds of small dots show emission from material around black holes and other dense stellar objects. A supermassive black hole - some four million times more massive than the Sun - resides within the bright region in the lower right. The diffuse X-ray light comes from gas heated to millions of degrees by outflows from the supermassive black hole, winds from giant stars, and stellar explosions. This central region is the most energetic place in our galaxy.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy #MilkyWay
This image shows multiwavelength perspectives on the pulsar PSR B1509-58. The 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) infrared images shows a large area of the sky around the pulsar. The SuperCOSMOS optical image is closer in and shows a surrounding cloud of gas. Chandra X-ray data show the effects of an energetic wind powered by the pulsar. The X-ray emission results from very energetic electrons spiraling in a magnetic field. Finger-like structures extend to the upper right and energize knots of material in the gas cloud. The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) radio data shows the larger structure of the supernova remnant SNR G320.4-1.2 that encircles the pulsar PSR B1509.
Image credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/SAO/P.Slane, et al.); Infrared (2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech); Radio (Molonglo Obs. Synthesis Tel.))
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #supernova #supernovaremnant #pulsar
Read more about NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)
This 2008 image shows X-ray data of the full shell of the supernova remnant from SN 1006. The entire object has an angular size of roughly 30 arcminutes (0.5 degree, or about the size of the full moon), and a physical size of 60 light years based on its distance of nearly 7,000 light years from Earth. The X-ray data were acquired from the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) at 0.5-3keV, and were provided by J. Hughes (Rutgers University) et al.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G.Cassam-Chenai, J.Hughes et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #supernova #supernovaremnant
This 2009 Chandra image of the nearby galaxy Centaurus A provides one of the best views to date of the effects of an active supermassive black hole. Opposing jets of high-energy particles can be seen extending to the outer reaches of the galaxy, and numerous smaller black holes in binary star systems are also visible.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxy
This image of the Crab Nebula combines data from NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in magenta and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory in dark purple.
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.
Image credit: X-ray (IXPE: NASA), (Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO) Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand & L. Frattare
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy
Astronomers have made the most extensive study yet of how magnetically active stars are when they are young. This gives scientists a window into how X-rays from stars like the Sun, but billions of years younger, could partially or completely evaporate the atmospheres of planets orbiting them.
Many stars begin their lives in “open clusters,” loosely packed groups of stars with up to a few thousand members, all formed roughly at the same time. This makes open clusters valuable for astronomers investigating the evolution of stars and planets, because they allow the study of many stars of similar ages forged in the same environment.
A team of astronomers led by Konstantin Getman of Penn State University studied a sample of over 6,000 stars in 10 different open clusters with ages between 7 million and 25 million years. One of the goals of this study was to learn how the magnetic activity levels of stars like our Sun change during the first tens of millions of years after they form. Getman and his colleagues used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory for this study because stars that have more activity linked to magnetic fields are brighter in X-rays.
They combined their results for the open clusters with previously published Chandra studies of stars as young as 500,000 years old. The team found that the X-ray brightness of young, Sun-like stars is roughly constant for the first few million years, and then fades from 7 to 25 million years of age. This decrease happens more quickly for heftier stars.
This composite image shows one of those clusters, NGC 3293, which is 11 million years old and is located about 8,300 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way galaxy. The image contains X-rays from Chandra (purple) as well as infrared data from ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory (red), longer-wavelength infrared data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope (blue and white), and optical data from the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile appearing as red, white and blue.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/Penn State Univ./K. Getman et al.; Infrared: ESA/NASA JPL-Caltech/Herschel Space Observatory/JPL/IPAC; NASA JPL-Caltech/SSC/Spitzer Space Telescope; Optical: MPG/ESO/G. Beccari
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #stars #supernovaremnant #starcluster
A dramatic 2008 Chandra image of the nearby galaxy Centaurus A provides one of the best views of the effects of an active supermassive black hole. Opposing jets of high-energy particles can be seen extending to the outer reaches of the galaxy, and numerous smaller black holes in binary star systems are also visible. This multi-panel shows the Chandra image in context with radio and optical data.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al; Radio: NSF/VLA/Univ.Hertfordshire/M.Hardcastle; Optical: ESO/WFI/M.Rejkuba et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #stars #supermassiveblackhole #blackhole #galaxy
About 10,000 years ago, light from the explosion of a giant star in the constellation Vela arrived at Earth. This supernova left behind a dense object called a pulsar, which appears to brighten regularly as it spins, like a cosmic lighthouse. From the surface of this pulsar, winds of particles emerge that travel near the speed of light, creating a chaotic hodgepodge of charged particles and magnetic fields that crash into surrounding gas. This phenomenon is called a pulsar wind nebula.
In this new image, the hazy light blue halo corresponds to the first-ever X-ray polarization data for Vela, which comes from NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE. A faint blue fuzzy line pointing to the upper right-hand corner corresponds to a jet of high-energy particles shooting out from the pulsar at about half the speed of light. The pink X-ray "arcs" are thought to mark the edges of donut-shaped regions where the pulsar wind shocks and accelerates high-energy particles. The pulsar itself is located at the white circle at the center of the image.
Light blue represents X-ray polarization data from NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Pink and purple colors correspond to data from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray observatory, which has observed Vela several times previously. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope contributed the stars in the background.
Image credit: X-ray: (IXPE) NASA/MSFC/Fei Xie & (Chandra) NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScI Hubble/Chandra processing by Judy Schmidt; Hubble/Chandra/IXPE processing & compositing by NASA/CXC/SAO/Kimberly Arcand & Nancy Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #supernova #supernovaremnant #pulsar
Read more about NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)
Many factors can limit the size of a group, including external ones that members have no control over. Astronomers have found that groups of stars in certain environments, however, can regulate themselves.
A new study has revealed stars in a cluster having “self-control,” meaning that they allow only a limited number of stars to grow before the biggest and brightest members expel most of the gas from the system. This process should drastically slow down the birth of new stars, which would better align with astronomers’ predictions for how quickly stars form in clusters.
This study combines data from several telescopes including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA's now-retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the APEX (the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment) telescope, and ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) retired Herschel telescope.
The target of the observations was RCW 36, a large cloud of gas called an HII (pronounced "H-two") region mainly composed of hydrogen atoms that have been ionized — that is, stripped of their electrons. This star-forming complex is located in the Milky Way about 2,900 light-years from Earth. Infrared data from Herschel is shown in red, orange, and green, and X-ray data is blue, with point sources in white. North is 32 degrees left of vertical.
Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/U.Wisc-Madison/S. Heinz et al.; Swift: NASA/Swift/Univ. of Leicester/A. Beardmore; Optical: DSS; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #stars
This image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show the dusty remains of a collapsed star. The white source at the center is a pulsar that is generating wind of high-energy particles seen by Chandra that expands into the surrounding environment. The infrared shell that surrounds this pulsar wind is made up of gas and dust that condensed out of debris from the supernova explosion. The nature and quantity of dust produced in supernova explosions is a long-standing mystery, and G54.1+0.3 supplies an important piece to the puzzle.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/P.Slane et al.;
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #pulsar
Astronomers have captured a spectacular, ongoing collision between at least three galaxy clusters. Data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) XMM-Newton, and a trio of radio telescopes is helping astronomers sort out what is happening in this jumbled scene. Collisions and mergers like this are the main way that galaxy clusters can grow into the gigantic cosmic edifices seen today. These also act as the largest particle accelerators in the universe.
The giant galaxy cluster forming from this collision is Abell 2256, located 780 million light-years from Earth. This composite image of Abell 2256 combines X-rays from Chandra and XMM in blue with radio data collected by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) all in red, plus optical and infrared data from Pan-STARRs in white and pale yellow.
Astronomers studying this object are trying to tease out what has led to this unusual-looking structure. Each telescope tells a different part of the story. Galaxy clusters are some of the biggest objects in the universe containing hundreds or even thousands of individual galaxies. In addition, they contain enormous reservoirs of superheated gas, with temperatures of several million degrees Fahrenheit. Only X-ray telescopes like Chandra and XMM can see this hot gas. A labeled version of the figure shows gas from two of the galaxy clusters, with the third blended too closely to separate from the others.
Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Bolonga/K. Rajpurohit et al.; XMM-Newton: ESA/XMM-Newton/Univ. of Bolonga/K. Rajpurohit et al. Radio: LOFAR: LOFAR/ASTRON; GMRT: NCRA/TIFR/GMRT; VLA: NSF/NRAO/VLA; Optical/IR: Pan-STARRS
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxycluster #blackhole #supermassiveblackhole
This 2008 view of the Bullet Cluster, located about 3.8 billion light years from Earth, shows data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This cluster, officially known as 1E 0657-56, was formed after the violent collision of two large clusters of galaxies. Scientists have examined this system with Chandra and Compton to look for evidence of antimatter in the cluster's hot gas. The results did not reveal the signature for the collision of matter and antimatter, meaning that there is little or no antimatter in the Bullet Cluster, at most 3 parts per million. The X-ray emission shows the amount of hot gas in this system.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/CfA/M.Markevitch et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxycluster #bulletcluster
This 2008 image of M84, a massive elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 55 million light years from Earth, shows X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. A number of bubbles generated from the supermassive black hole at the center of this giant galaxy are visible in this image. The particles that create these bubbles travel outward from the black hole in the form of a two-sided jet. Smaller bubbles are found within larger ones, and this nesting provides clear evidence for repeated outbursts from the central black hole.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/MPE/A.Finoguenov et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxycluster #galaxy #blackhole #supermassiveblackhole
This 2010 Chandra image shows the central region of the M82 galaxy and contains two bright X-ray sources of special interest. Studies with Chandra and ESA's XMM-Newton show that these two sources may be intermediate-mass black holes, with masses in between those of the stellar-mass and supermassive variety. These "survivor" black holes avoided falling into the center of the galaxy and could be examples of the seeds required for the growth of supermassive black holes in galaxies, including the one in the Milky Way.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/Tsinghua Univ./H. Feng et al.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #galaxy
This 2009 X-ray image of the Hydra A galaxy cluster shows 10-million-degree gas observed by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Detailed analysis of the Chandra data shows that the gas located along the direction of the jets is enhanced in iron and other metals produced by Type Ia supernova explosions in the large galaxy at the center of the cluster. A powerful outburst from the supermassive black hole then pushed the material outwards, over distances extending for almost 400,000 light years, extending beyond the region shown in this image.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/U.Waterloo/C.Kirkpatrick et al.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy
On Earth, wind can transport particles of dust and debris across the planet, with sand from the Sahara ending up in the Caribbean or volcanic ash from Iceland being deposited in Greenland. Wind can also have a big impact on the ecology and environment of a galaxy, just like on Earth, but on much larger and more dramatic scales.
A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the effects of powerful winds (in pink and white) launched from the center of a nearby galaxy, NGC 253, located 11.4 million light-years from Earth. This galactic wind is composed of gas with temperatures of millions of degrees that glows in X-rays. An amount of hot gas equivalent to about two million Earth masses blows away from the galaxy's center every year.
NGC 253 is a spiral galaxy, making it similar to our Milky Way. However, stars are forming in NGC 253 about two to three times more quickly than in our home galaxy. Some of these young stars are massive and generate a wind by ferociously blowing gas from their surfaces. Even more powerful winds are unleashed when, later in their relatively short lives, these stars explode as supernovae, and hurl waves of material out into space.
NGC 253 gives astronomers a keyhole through which to study this important phase in the stellar life cycle. The material that the young stars send out into intergalactic space across hundreds of light-years is enriched with elements forged in their interior. These elements, which include many responsible for life on Earth, are folded into the next generations of stars and planets.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/The Ohio State Univ/S. Lopez et al.; H-alpha and Optical: NSF/NOIRLab/AURA/KPNO/CTIO; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Spitzer/D. Dale et al; Full Field Optical: ESO/La Silla Observatory.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy
Happy #StarWarsDay! A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a giant black hole at the center of a massive elliptical galaxy made a mark on its surroundings! An “H”-shaped structure is found in a detailed new X-ray map from Chandra X-ray Observatory of the multimillion-degree gas around the galaxy Messier 84 (M84).
As gas is captured by the gravitational force of the black hole, some of it will fall into the abyss, never to be seen again. Some of the gas, however, avoids this fate and instead gets blasted away from the black hole in the form of jets of particles. These jets can push out cavities, in the hot gas surrounding the black hole. Given the orientation of the jets to Earth and the profile of the hot gas, the cavities in M84 form what appears to resemble the letter “H.” The H-shaped structure in the gas is an example of pareidolia, which is when people see familiar shapes or patterns in random data. Pareidolia can occur in all kinds of data from clouds to rocks and astronomical images.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Princeton Univ/C. Bambic et al.; Optical: SDSS; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA/ESO; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N.Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy #blackholeweek #supermassiveblackhole #blackhole
The discovery of the most distant galaxy cluster with a specific important trait – as described in our press release – is providing insight into how these gigantic structures formed and why the universe looks like it does in the present day.
This composite image shows SPT-CL J2215-3537 (SPT2215 for short) in X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue) and a combination of ultraviolet, optical, and infrared light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (cyan and orange). Astronomers used Chandra to find this distant and unusually young galaxy cluster, along with NSF/DOE’s South Pole Telescope, the Dark Energy Survey project in Chile and NASA’s Spitzer Observatory. The results have been reported in a series of three papers.
SPT2215 is located about 8.4 billion light-years from Earth. This means it is seen when the universe is only 5.3 billion years old, compared to its current age of 13.8 billion years. While there have been many clusters seen at this large distance, SPT2215 possesses a quality that makes its whereabouts particularly intriguing. SPT is what astronomers refer to as “relaxed,” meaning that it shows no signs of having been disrupted by violent collisions with other clusters of galaxies.
Galaxy clusters – some of the biggest structures in the universe -- grow over time by merging with other galaxy clusters or groups, causing disturbances such as asymmetries or sharp features in the cluster’s gas. Given enough time to “relax,” however, the gas can take on a smooth, calm appearance, as seen with SPT2215. Until the identification of SPT2215, astronomers had not found a relaxed galaxy cluster this far away. In fact, scientists were not sure they would find a galaxy cluster that was relaxed at this epoch of the universe, because they are usually still undergoing the turmoil of mergers with other clusters or groups of galaxies as they increase in size.
Another interesting aspect of SPT2215 is the evidence for large amounts of star formation happening in its center. SPT2215 has a very large galaxy in its middle, which in turn has a supermassive black hole at its core. The prodigious amount of star formation shows scientists that much of the hot has cooled to the point where new stars can form, without outbursts driven by the black hole providing a heating source that prevents most of this cooling. This addresses an ongoing question of how much black holes stymie or support the birth of stars in their environments.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/M. Calzadilla; UV/Optical/Near-IR/IR: NASA/STScI/HST; Image processing: N. Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #galaxycluster #galaxy
NGC 6240 is a galaxy in which two supermassive black holes are a mere 3,000 light years apart. These black holes (the two partially overlapping bright point-like sources in the middle) are in such close proximity, scientists think, because they are in the act of spiraling toward each other -a process that began about 30 million years earlier. It is estimated that the two black holes will eventually drift together and merge into a larger black hole some tens to hundreds of millions of years later.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/C.Canizares, M.Nowak
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy #blackhole #supermassiveblackhole
The Chandra data of NGC 281 show more than 300 individual X-ray sources, most of which are associated with the central star cluster. The edge-on aspect of NGC 281 allows scientists to study the effects of powerful X-rays on the gas in the region, the raw material for star formation.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/CfA/S.Wolk et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #stars #supernovaremnant #starcluster
When a massive star explodes like the one that produced G292.0+1.8, it creates a shell of hot gas that glows brightly in X-rays. Chandra is able to observe the stellar debris, revealing the dynamics of the explosion. With nearly six days of Chandra observing time devoted to studying G292.0+1.8, astronomers hope they can use this particular remnant to better understand the complicated details of such an explosion. This image shows the high-energy X-rays only (1.810-2.050 and 2.400-2.620 keV).
Image credit: NASA/CXC/Penn State/S.Park et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #stars #supernovaremnant #supernova
In this 2008 image of Kes 75, the pulsar is the bright spot near the center of the image. The rapid rotation and strong magnetic field of the pulsar have generated a wind of energetic matter and antimatter particles that rush out at near the speed of light. This pulsar wind has created a large, magnetized bubble of high-energy particles called a pulsar wind nebulae, seen as the blue region surrounding the pulsar. The magnetic field of the pulsar in Kes 75 is thought to be more powerful than most pulsars, but less powerful than magnetars, a class of neutron star with the most powerful magnetic fields known in the Universe. Scientists are seeking to understand the relationship between these two classes of object.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/GSFC/F.P.Gavriil et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #supermassiveblackhole #pulsar
This 2010 Chandra X-ray Observatory image shows a view of NGC 1068, one of the nearest and brightest galaxies containing a rapidly growing supermassive black hole. NGC 1068 is located about 50 million light years from Earth and contains a supermassive black hole about twice as massive as the one in the middle of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/C.Canizares, D.Evans et al.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy #blackholeweek #supermassiveblackhole #blackhole
The active galaxy NGC 1275 is a well-known radio source (Perseus A) and a strong emitter of X-rays due to the presence of a black hole in the center of the galaxy. The behemoth also lies at the center of the cluster of galaxies known as the Perseus Cluster. The Chandra data shows the supermassive black hole at the center of Perseus A, seen as a white point. This 2008 image is 350 thousand light years across at the distance of the Perseus cluster. The hot cluster gas is seen as diffuse emission, and two cavities in the cluster gas are visible on either side of the black hole.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxy #supermassiveblackhole #blackhole
Chandra's 2008 image of SN 1006 shows X-rays from multimillion degree gas (red/orange) and high-energy electrons (blue). In the year 1006 a "new star" appeared in the sky and in just a few days it became brighter than the planet Venus. We now know that the event heralded not the appearance of a new star, but the cataclysmic death of an old one. It was likely a white dwarf star that had been pulling matter off an orbiting companion star. When the white dwarf mass exceeded the stability limit (known as the Chandrasekhar limit), it exploded. Material ejected in the supernova produced tremendous shock waves that heated gas to millions of degrees and accelerated electrons to extremely high energies.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G.Cassam-Chenai, J.Hughes et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #supernova
This galaxy cluster, Abell 2163, from the Chandra X-ray Observatory is representative of over 80 clusters that were used to track the effects of dark energy on these massive objects over time. Most of the matter in galaxy clusters is in the form of very hot gas, which emits copious amounts of X-rays. By studying clusters across large distances, astronomers have determined that dark energy has stifled their growth.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/A.Vikhlinin et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxycluster #galaxy #darkenergy #galaxycluster
A group of galaxies is plunging into the Coma galaxy cluster and leaving behind an enormous tail of superheated gas. Astronomers have confirmed this is the longest known tail behind a galaxy group and used it to gain a deeper understanding of how galaxy clusters – some of the largest structures in the universe – grow to their enormous sizes.
Astronomers trained NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory on the galaxy group NGC 4839. Galaxy groups are collections of about 50 galaxies or less that are bound together by gravity. Galaxy clusters are even larger and can contain hundreds or thousands of individual galaxies.
Both galaxy clusters and galaxy groups are enveloped by huge amounts of hot gas that are best studied using X-rays. These superheated pools of gas, though extremely thin and diffuse, represent a significant portion of the mass in galaxy groups or clusters and are crucial for understanding these systems.
NGC 4839 is located near the edge of the Coma galaxy cluster, one of the largest known clusters in the universe about 340 million light-years away. As NGC 4839 moves toward the center of the Coma cluster, the hot gas in the galaxy group is stripped away by its collision with gas in the cluster. This results in a tail forming behind the galaxy group.
The image on the left shows an X-ray view of the Coma galaxy cluster taken with ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) XMM-Newton (blue), along with optical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (yellow). The galaxy group NGC 4839 is located in the lower right of that image. The inset on the right is the Chandra image (purple) of the region outlined by the square. The head of NGC 4839’s tail is on the left side of the Chandra image and contains the brightest galaxy in the group and the densest gas. The tail trails to the right. (The Chandra image has been rotated so that north is about 30 degrees to the left of vertical.)
X-rays from the hot gas in the outer regions of the Coma cluster — that NGC 4839 is traveling through — are too faint to be seen in the XMM image shown here, but are highlighted in a supplementary, XMM-only image. This mosaic of images shows gaps between individual images where data was not obtained, and dark holes where point sources of X-rays were removed.
This tail is, in fact, 1.5 million light-years long, or hundreds of thousands of times the distance between the Sun and the nearest star, making it the longest tail ever seen trailing behind a group of galaxies.
Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/SAO/Univ. of Alabama/M. S. Mirakhor et al.; XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; Optical: SDSS; Image processing: N. Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #STScI #jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #NASAGoddard #galaxy
Read more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory
This image features a galaxy called 3C 297 that is lonelier than expected after it likely pulled in and absorbed its former companion galaxies, as described in our latest press release. The solo galaxy is located about 9.2 billion light-years from Earth and contains a quasar, a supermassive black hole pulling in gas at the center of the galaxy and driving powerful jets of matter seen in radio waves. This result made with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the International Gemini Observatory may push the limits for how quickly astronomers expect galaxies to grow in the early universe.
In several regards, 3C 297 has the qualities of a galaxy cluster, a gigantic structure that contains hundreds or even thousands of individual galaxies. X-ray data from Chandra reveal large quantities of gas heated to millions of degrees — a signature feature of a galaxy cluster. Astronomers also found a jet from the quasar — seen by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array — that has been bent by interacting with its surroundings. Finally, Chandra data shows evidence that the other quasar jet has smashed into the gas around it, creating a “hotspot” of X-rays. These are typically characteristics of a galaxy cluster. Yet, data from the Gemini Observatory show there is only one galaxy in 3C 297. The nineteen galaxies that appear close to 3C 297 in a Gemini image are actually at much different distances.
In this new composite image, Chandra data is colored purple, VLA data is red and Gemini data is green. Visible light and infrared data from the Hubble Space Telescope (blue and orange respectively) have also been included. The lonely galaxy (3C 297) and the position of its supermassive black are identified in a labeled version of the image, along with the black hole’s jets, the X-ray hotspot and the hot gas. The field of view of this image is too small to show any of the 19 galaxies that are not at the same distance as 3C 297.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Torino/V. Missaglia et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI & International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA; Infrared: NASA/ESA/STScI; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxy #blackhole #Hubble
Evidence for a recoiling black hole was found using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble, XMM-Newton, and several ground-based telescopes. This black hole kickback was caused either by a slingshot effect produced in a triple black hole system, or from the effects of gravitational waves produced after two supermassive black holes merged a few million years earlier. Of the 2,600 X-ray sources found in this survey, only CID-42 coincides with two very close, compact optical sources. In this 2010 image, the two sources are too close for Chandra to resolve separately.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Civano et al.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #galaxycluster #galaxy
This 2009 Chandra X-ray image shows a divided neighborhood where some 200 hot, young, massive stars reside. Bubbles in the cooler gas and dust have been generated by powerful stellar winds, which are then filled with hot, X-ray emitting gas. Scientists find the amount of hot gas detected in the bubbles on the right side corresponds to the amount entirely powered by winds from the 200 hot massive stars. The situation is different on the left side where the amount of X-ray gas cannot explain the brightness of the X-ray emission. The bubbles on this left side appear to be much older and were likely created and powered by young stars and supernovas in the past.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/CfA/R. Tuellmann et al.
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxycluster #galaxy
This 2010 image shows N49, the aftermath of a supernova explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud. A long observation from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals evidence for a bullet-shaped object being blown out of a debris field left over from an exploded star.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/Tsinghua Univ./H. Feng et al.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #NASA #supernova
This soundtrack is our muse! 🎶
Imagery from NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer and Chandra X-ray Observatory have been combined to show data of the area around Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the core of the Milky Way galaxy. The combined images enabled researchers to develop a sonification, or an adaptation of visual information into audible, even musical sounds.
This new data has provided evidence that this black hole had an outburst about 200 years ago after devouring gas and dust within its reach.
Credits: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds—M. Russo, A. Santaguida
Visual description: In the sonification, an arched line ripples across the image, beginning at our lower righthand corner. As it passes over the dappled orange mist representing IXPE data, sounds like digital winds are triggered. When the arching line passes the indigo veins and specks representing Chandra data, notes are played resembling steel drums.
#NASA #NASAMarshall #IXPE #Chandra #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Sonification #NASAChandra #Astronomy
This panel of images represents a survey that used data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to uncover hundreds of previously “hidden” black holes. This result helps astronomers conduct a more accurate census of supermassive black holes that exist in the centers of most large galaxies, as reported in our latest press release.
This graphic shows two of the galaxies from the new study, with Chandra X-ray data in purple and optical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in red, green and blue. These black holes were found in galaxies that are dim in optical light, but bright in X-rays. Astronomers have dubbed these “XBONGs” (for X-ray bright, optically normal galaxies). While scientists have been aware of XBONGs for several decades, an explanation for their unusual properties has been unclear.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/D. Kim et al.; Optical/IR: Legacy Surveys/D. Lang (Perimeter Institute)
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #supermassiveblackhole #blackhole
This X-ray image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows activity from the central black hole in galaxy 3C305. Unexpectedly, Chandra's X-ray data does not appear to align with radio emission detected by the Very Large Array, but does overlap with the optical emission. Using this information, astronomers believe the X-ray emission is caused either by jets or radiation surrounding the black hole. One of these mechanisms is infusing the interstellar gas with enough energy to cause it to glow in X-ray light.
Image credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/CfA/F.Massaro, et al.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #IXPE #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #blackhole
A new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has tracked two pairs of supermassive black holes in dwarf galaxies on collision courses, as discussed in our latest press release. This is the first evidence for such an impending encounter, providing scientists with important information about the growth of black holes in the early Universe.
By definition, dwarf galaxies contain stars with a total mass less than 3 billion Suns — or about 20 times less than the Milky Way. Astronomers have long suspected that dwarf galaxies merge, particularly in the relatively early Universe, in order to grow into the larger galaxies seen today. However, current technology cannot observe the first generation of dwarf galaxy mergers because they are extraordinarily faint at their great distances. Another tactic — looking for dwarf galaxy mergers closer by — had not been successful to date.
The new study overcame these challenges by implementing a systematic survey of deep Chandra X-ray observations and comparing them with infrared data from NASA’s Wide Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and optical data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).
Chandra was particularly valuable for this study because material surrounding black holes can be heated up to millions of degrees, producing large amounts of X-rays. The team searched for pairs of bright X-ray sources in colliding dwarf galaxies as evidence of two black holes, and discovered two examples.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/M. Micic et al.; Optical: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
#NASAMarshall #Chandra #NASAChandra #ChandraXrayObservatory #galaxy #blackhole
Two spectacular tails of X-ray emission was seen in this 2010 image trailing behind a galaxy using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. At the front of the tail is the galaxy ESO 137-001. The brighter of the two tails has been seen before and extends for about 260,000 light years. The detection of the second, fainter tail, however, was a surprise to the scientists. At the front of the tail is the galaxy ESO 137-001. The brighter of the two tails has been seen before and extends for about 260,000 light years. The detection of the second, fainter tail, however, was a surprise to the scientists.
Image credit: NASA/CXC/UVa/M. Sun, et al; H-alpha
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #astronomy #chandra #NASAChandra #galaxy
It’s the cat’s meow! To celebrate its third year of revealing stunning scenes of the cosmos in infrared light, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has “clawed” back the thick, dusty layers of a section within the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334). Focusing Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on a single “toe bean” within this active star-forming region revealed a subset of mini toe beans, which appear to contain young stars shaping the surrounding gas and dust.
Webb’s look at this particular area of the Cat’s Paw Nebula just scratches the surface of the telescope’s three years of groundbreaking science.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
#NASAMarshall #NASA #NASAWebb #JWST #NASAGoddard #astrophysics #NASAChandra #Space #Chandra #Telescope #Universe #nebula
Scientists have discovered a star behaving like no other seen before, giving fresh clues about the origin of a new class of mysterious objects. This composite image features a mysterious object, possibly an unusual neutron star or white dwarf, residing near the edge of a supernova remnant. The object, known as ASKAP J1832, has been intriguing astronomers from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope with its antics and bizarre behavior.
Astronomers have discovered that ASKAP J1832 cycles in radio wave intensity every 44 minutes. This is thousands of times longer than pulsars, which are rapidly spinning neutron stars that have repeated variations multiple times a second. Using Chandra, the team discovered that the object is also regularly varying in X-rays every 44 minutes. This is the first time such an X-ray signal has been found in a long period radio transient like ASKAP J1832.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICRAR, Curtin Univ./Z. Wang et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL/CalTech/IPAC; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #NASAChandra #Space #Chandra #Telescope #Universe #LongPeriodRadioTransients
Twenty-six black hole candidates (labeled in the image) - the largest number found in a galaxy outside our own - were discovered in the Milky Way's galactic neighbor, Andromeda. Using over 150 observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory spread over 13 years, researchers identified the bonanza of stellar-mass black holes, that is, those that form from the collapse of a giant star and typically have masses between five and ten times that of the Sun. This 2013 image shows the Chandra view of the central region of Andromeda, also known as M31. It is expected that billions of years in the future, the Milky Way and Andromeda will collide and many more black holes will be created.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/J. Maithil et al.; Illustration: NASA/CXC/SAO/M. Weiss; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #NASAChandra #Space #Chandra #Telescope #Universe #BlackHole #galaxy #Andromeda
The Cygnus Loop (also known as the Veil Nebula) is a supernova remnant, left over from a massive stellar explosion that occurred between 5,000 to 8,000 years ago. The original supernova would have been bright enough to be seen clearly from Earth with the naked eye. At three degrees across, the Cygnus Loop has the diameter of six full moons.
Now, NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory team has released a 3D model of a simulation describing the interaction of a blast wave from the explosion with an isolated cloud of the interstellar medium (that is, dust and gas in between the stars). You can view this 3D model and others like it at https://www.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/nasas-chandra-releases-new-3d-models-of-cosmic-objects/!
Image description: In the composite image, the remnant resembles a wispy cloud in oranges, blues, purples, and whites, shaped like a backwards letter C. The remnant is set against a backdrop of a million stars.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC; Optical: John Stone (Astrobin); Image Processing: NASA/SAO/CXC/L. Frattare, N. Wolk
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #NASAChandra #Space #Chandra #Telescope #Universe #Supernova
This 2012 image of the galaxy NGC 3627 shows X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, infrared data from Spitzer Space Telescope, and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope. Astronomers conducted a survey of 62 galaxies - which included NGC 3627 - to study the supermassive black holes at their centers. Among this sample, 37 galaxies with X-ray sources are supermassive black hole candidates, and seven were not previously known. Confirming previous Chandra results, this study finds the fraction of galaxies hosting supermassive black holes is much higher than in optical searches for black holes that are relatively inactive.
Credit: NASA/CXC/Ohio State Univ./C.Grier et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI, ESO/WFI; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #NASAChandra #NASA #nebula #galaxy
This 2013 composite image of Kepler's supernova remnant shows Spitzer infrared emission in pink and Chandra X-ray emission from iron in blue. The infrared emission is very similar in shape and location to X-ray emission (not shown here) from material that was expelled by the giant star companion to the white dwarf before the latter exploded. This material forms a disk around the center of the explosion as shown in the labeled version. This composite figure also shows a remarkably large and puzzling concentration of iron on the left side of the center of the remnant but not the right. The authors speculate that the cause of this asymmetry might be the "shadow" in iron that was cast by the companion star, which blocked the ejection of material. Previously, theoretical work has suggested this shadowing is possible for Type Ia supernova remnants.
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/NCSU/M.Burkey et al; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
#NASAMarshall #NASA #astrophysics #NASAChandra #Space #Chandra #Telescope #Universe #supernova #NASASpitzer