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Explanation: As far as pulsars go, PSR B1509-58 appears young. Light from the supernova explosion that gave birth to it would have first reached Earth some 1,700 years ago. The magnetized, 20 kilometer-diameter neutron star spins 7 times per second, a cosmic dynamo that powers a wind of charged particles. The energetic wind creates the surrounding nebula's X-ray glow in this tantalizing image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Low energy X-rays are in red, medium energies in green, and high energies in blue. The pulsar itself is in the bright central region. Remarkably, the nebula's tantalizing, complicated structure resembles a hand. PSR B1509-58 is about 17,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Circinus. At that distance the Chandra image spans 100 light-years.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
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& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: pulsar - neutron star
Publications with words: pulsar - neutron star
See also:
- Supernova Cannon Expels Pulsar J0002
- The Spinning Pulsar of the Crab Nebula
- GW200115: Simulation of a Black Hole Merging with a Neutron Star
- Flashes of the Crab Pulsar
- A Hotspot Map of Neutron Star J0030s Surface
- Unusual Signal Suggests Neutron Star Destroyed by Black Hole
- The Lonely Neutron Star in Supernova E0102 72.3