X-Rays From IC 443
Explanation:
The life-cycles of stars help drive the ecology of our Galaxy,
churning, processing, and redistributing matter.
Massive stars reach a spectacular evolutionary endpoint -
supernovae explosions which blast off
their outer layers, violently merging stellar material with the
gas and dust of the Milky Way.
The supernova remnant IC 443 is typical of the aftermath. Seen in
this false color
X-ray image are the shocked,
expanding shells of gas from a star which
exploded thousands of years ago.
Known to be interacting with
galactic molecular clouds, the expanding
supernova remnant was also recently discovered to have regions of
intense higher energy X-ray emission (coded blue in this map)
near the molecular cloud boundaries.
This X-ray emission may indicate that electrons are
being accelerated within the remnant, gaining in energy as they surf back
and forth across the expanding shock wave.
If so, IC 443 could also be one source of
our Galaxy's puzzling high energy cosmic-rays.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
