SVD presentar idag bilden där pulsaren och neutronstjärnan PSR B1509-58 skickar ut en elektromagnetisk vind som ser ut som en hand som sträcker sig efter ett annat föremål som om det var en ny bild. Men bilden som ibland kallas guds hand är nästan 5 år gammal, alltså ingen nyhet alls. En häftig bild är det.

PSR B1509-58

Neutronstjärnor som PSR B1509-58 är döende stjärnor:

Neutron stars are created when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse. B1509 is spinning completely around almost 7 times every second and is releasing energy into its environment at a prodigious rate – presumably because it has an intense magnetic field at its surface, estimated to be 15 trillion times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field.

The combination of rapid rotation and ultra-strong magnetic field makes B1509 one of the most powerful electromagnetic generators in the Galaxy. This generator drives an energetic wind of electrons and ions away from the neutron star. As the electrons move through the magnetized nebula, they radiate away their energy and create the elaborate nebula seen by Chandra.

In the innermost regions, a faint circle surrounds the pulsar, and marks the spot where the wind is rapidly decelerated by the slowly expanding nebula. In this way, B1509 shares some striking similarities to the famous Crab Nebula. However B1509’s nebula is 15 times wider than the Crab’s diameter of 10 light years.

Finger-like structures extend to the north, apparently energizing knots of material in a neighboring gas cloud known as RCW 89. The transfer of energy from the wind to these knots makes them glow brightly in X-rays (orange and red features to the upper right). The temperature in this region appears to vary in a circular pattern around this ring of emission, suggesting that the pulsar may be precessing like a spinning top and sweeping an energizing beam around the gas in RCW 89.

SVD:s konkurrent DN kör istället med att det svarta hålet i Vintergatans mitt sannolikt kommer att sluka ett stort gasmoln och därmed eventuellt orsaka ett himmelskt fyrverkeri. Kanske inte ett fyrverkeri som vi vanliga dödliga kommer att uppleva, utan bara vissa astronomer. Men några häftiga bilder kanske vi andra kan få se.

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Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om PSR B1509-58, Neutronstjärna, Pulsar, Nebulosa, Svart hål, Vintergatan, Astronomi, Rymden