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Credit & Copyright: F. Schinzel
et al.
(NRAO,
NSF),
Canadian Galactic Plane Survey
(DRAO),
NASA
(IRAS);
Composition:
Jayanne English
(U. Manitoba)
Explanation:
What could shoot out a neutron star like a cannon ball?
A supernova.
About 10,000 years ago, the
supernova that created the nebular remnant
CTB 1 not only destroyed a massive star but blasted its newly formed
neutron star core -- a
pulsar -- out into the Milky Way Galaxy.
The pulsar,
spinning 8.7 times a second, was
discovered using downloadable software
Einstein@Home
searching through data taken by NASA's orbiting
Fermi Gamma-Ray Observatory.
Traveling over 1,000 kilometers per second, the
pulsar PSR J0002+6216
(J0002 for short) has already left the
supernova remnant CTB 1, and is even
fast
enough to leave our Galaxy.
Pictured, the trail of the
pulsar
is visible extending to the lower left of the supernova remnant.
The featured
image
is a combination of radio images from the
VLA and DRAO
radio observatories,
as well as data archived from NASA's orbiting
IRAS
infrared observatory.
It is well known that supernovas can act as cannons, and even that
pulsars can act as cannonballs -- what is not known is how supernovas do it.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: supernova - pulsar
Publications with words: supernova - pulsar
See also:
- Supernova Remnant CTA 1
- APOD: 2024 July 23 Á The Crab Nebula from Visible to X Ray
- APOD: 2023 October 11 Á NGC 1097: Spiral Galaxy with Supernova
- APOD: 2023 July 9 Á Doomed Star Eta Carinae
- APOD: 2023 May 22 Á Supernova Discovered in Nearby Spiral Galaxy M101
- Supernova Cannon Expels Pulsar J0002
- The Spinning Pulsar of the Crab Nebula