Skip to main content

The first time, data from NASA's Chandra X-ray and Webb telescope have been combined to study the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A).

Image
By Surendra Uikey

 



The first time astronomers have merged data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope to delve into the intricacies of the renowned supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). Recently unveiled in a press release, this research sheds light on the enigmatic "Green Monster," a peculiar structure within the remnants of the exploded star, initially detected in Webb data in April 2023. This study not only unravels the mysteries surrounding the Green Monster but also unveils fresh insights into the explosion that birthed Cas A approximately 340 years ago from Earth's perspective.


The composite image, combining X-rays from Chandra, infrared data from Webb, and optical data from Hubble, with additional contributions from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, provides a comprehensive view of this cosmic spectacle. Explore the contours of the Green Monster by hovering over the image, offering a glimpse into the multifaceted nature of this celestial event.


Chandra's discerning gaze exposes the intricate dynamics within Cassiopeia A (Cas A), unveiling hot gas composed mainly of supernova debris rich in elements like silicon and iron. The outer reaches of Cas A showcase the expanding blast wave colliding with pre-explosion ejected gas from the star, inducing X-ray emission. Energetic electrons, spiraling along magnetic field lines in the blast wave, create luminous arcs both in the outer regions and parts of the interior. James Webb Space Telescope complements this revelation by highlighting infrared emission from dust, warmed by embedding in the hot gas observed by Chandra, as well as from cooler supernova remnants. Hubble's contribution offers a glimpse of stars in the cosmic neighborhood.


A complementary graphic, utilizing color-coded Chandra imagery, further delineates the cosmic spectacle. Red signifies low X-ray energy emissions from iron and magnesium, green represents intermediate X-ray energies from silicon, and blue showcases the highest energy X-rays originating from electrons spiraling around magnetic field lines. The graphic intricately outlines the distinctive features, including the enigmatic "Green Monster," while labeling locations of the blast wave and debris rich in silicon and iron. This comprehensive exploration provides a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay of elements and forces within the captivating remnants of Cas A.




Through meticulous analysis, researchers discovered that filaments in the outer regions of Cassiopeia A (Cas A), originating from the blast wave, closely align with the X-ray characteristics of the enigmatic "Green Monster." The color-coded Chandra image vividly illustrates this connection, revealing that the hues within the Green Monster's outline align more with the blast wave than the supernova debris rich in iron and silicon. This leads to the conclusion that the Green Monster emerged as a result of the blast wave from the exploded star colliding with its surrounding material, corroborating earlier insights derived solely from Webb data.


The supernova debris, observed by Chandra, is heated to tens of millions of degrees by shock waves, akin to sonic booms from a supersonic plane. In contrast, James Webb Space Telescope captures "pristine" debris—material unaffected by shock waves. To deepen their understanding of the supernova explosion, the research team compared Webb's view of pristine debris with X-ray maps of radioactive elements produced during the supernova.


Utilizing NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) data, they mapped radioactive titanium, still visible today, and used Chandra to map the locations of radioactive nickel by measuring the distribution of iron. An additional image vividly depicts the iron-rich debris (tracing the location of radioactive nickel) in green, radioactive titanium in blue, and the pristine debris in orange and yellow, unveiling the intricate aftermath of Cas A's dramatic cosmic event.




Recent observations presented by Dan Milisavljevic from Purdue University at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society shed light on the intricate connections within the remnants of Cassiopeia A (Cas A). Filaments of pristine debris near the center, as revealed by James Webb Space Telescope, are intricately linked to iron observed with Chandra in the outer regions. The presence of radioactive titanium, coinciding with areas of weaker pristine debris, suggests a significant role in shaping these regions. The fine structures within the pristine debris likely originated during the star's cataclysmic collapse, where its inner layers violently mixed with hot, radioactive matter produced at the core's gravitational collapse.


These findings are detailed in two papers submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters, with one led by Milisavljevic focusing on the Webb results and another led by Jacco Vink of the University of Amsterdam concentrating on the Chandra outcomes. The collaborative efforts of researchers from various institutions contribute to a deeper understanding of the aftermath of Cas A's explosive demise, with related papers by additional team members currently in preparation. The Chandra X-ray Center, operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, oversees science operations and flight activities from Cambridge and Burlington, Massachusetts, respectively.


The James Webb Space Telescope stands as the forefront of space science observatories, unravelling mysteries within our solar system, exploring distant exoplanets, and delving into the enigmatic structures and origins of the universe. Led by NASA in collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, Webb represents a global effort to expand our cosmic understanding.


On a different mission front, NuSTAR, a Small Explorer mission led by Caltech and managed by JPL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, plays a crucial role in high-energy astrophysics. Developed in partnership with the Danish Technical University and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), NuSTAR's spacecraft was constructed by Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Virginia. Its mission operations center is situated at the University of California, Berkeley, and the official data archive is hosted at NASA’s High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. ASI contributes the mission’s ground station and a mirror data archive, while Caltech oversees JPL for NASA, showcasing collaborative efforts in advancing our understanding of the cosmos.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Post

In the triple-star system, KOI-5Ab is seen orbiting the primary star...

By Surendra Uikey
  KOI-5Ab continues to be a topic of discussion for researchers, as koi-5Ab has been seen orbiting the primary Star, confirming it has also been announced.  koi-5ab revolves around the primary star, it was thought to be a planet half the size of Saturn in a planetary system, and was the only other planet candidate to be detected by the KOI-5Ab mission. Kepler mission operations were initiated by NASA in 2009, by the end of spacecraft operations in 2018, the Kepler spacecraft had discovered 2,394 exoplanets, or planets orbiting stars beyond our sun, and about 2,366 exoplanets such  There are also those, which are still to be confirmed. David Ciardi, chief scientist at NASA's Exoplanet Science Institute, says the KOI-5AB was abandoned, because it was complicated, and we had thousands of candidates, and we were learning something new every day from Kepler, so that the KOI  Mostly forgot to -5. KOI-5Ab is part of the Triple Star system, where KOI-5 is a group of three st...
Post a Comment
Read more

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope will be closed.

By Surendra Uikey
NASA briefly informed that the Spitzer Space Telescope will be permanently discontinued on January 30, 2020. After about 16 years of discovering the universe in light energy.  And by that time, the space shuttle has been working for more than 11 years beyond its prime mission, Spitzer examines the universe's various objects in infrared light.  It was in 2003 through the rocket that the American Space Research Organization NASA entered the space and entered the orbit around the Earth.  Spitzer rotates the sun on a path similar to that of the Earth but it runs a bit slower.  Today it is about 158 ​​million miles (254 million kilometers) away from our planet - more than 600 times the distance between Earth and Moon.  The spacing of Spitzer's orbit curve means that when the spacecraft indicates its fixed antenna on the earth to download data or receive commands, its solar panels tend to lean away from the sun.  During those periods, to operate the space shut...
Post a Comment
Read more

SpaceX is launching its next dragon spacecraft.

By Surendra Uikey
SpaceX is preparing for its next mission, very soon Spacex will launch the Dragon Spacecraft with its Falcon 9 Rocket.   SpaceX is the 18th commercial reproduction service mission, dragon spacecraft will be loaded with dozens of experiments made in space.  Launch date: Sunday, July 21, 2019 at 7:35 pm  International Space Station (ISS) us  The National Laboratory SpaceX's dragon is giving a finalization to more than two dozen payloads for launch in a circular circular laboratory.  Many of these payloads are aimed at improving human health on the earth, many of which are focused on drug development.  In addition, a series of payloads from identified private sector partners will be launched on this mission.  More than 40 student experiments and demonstrations have been included on the 18th Commercial Recepti Services Mission (CRS-18) of SpaceX.  One part of ISS American National Laboratory's goal is to encourage and engage next generation scientists.                          ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NASA's review of the flight design of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully confirmed.

By Surendra Uikey
Critical design work for the NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has been completed, and the design analysis has also been successfully completed, indicating that all design and developmental engineering work is now complete.  The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is being managed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, along with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science stream consisting of various scientists  team is involved. After an analysis of extensive hardware testing and sophisticated modeling, an independent review panel confirms that the observatory we used, said Julie McEnery, senior project scientist for the Roman Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Ready, it will work. Julie McNairy says of the Roman Space Telescope, what we know, what it will look like, and what it is capable of doing, and now th...
Post a Comment
Read more

SpaceX,Dragon Cargo Returns Mission in Pacific ends with SplashDown

By Surendra Uikey
                                                                                                                                                        SpaceX dragon cargo spaceship dropped at 5:48 pm in the Pacific Ocean.  The EDT (2:48 p.m. PDT) is located approximately 202 miles southwest of Long Beach, California, which is located at the end of the company's 17th contracted Cargo Resipulli mission for NASA.  Spacecraft returned more than 4,200 pounds for other valuable scientific uses. Some scientific investigations of Dragon's return to Earth include: Overview of protein crystals growth, in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A cluster of three galaxies was imaged with the help of the Hubble telescope's camera.

By Surendra Uikey
Using the Hubble Telescope's Advanced Camera (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a cluster of three galaxies was imaged.  As shown in the image, the two galaxies have merged, scientists say, just as the two galaxies in the upper right appear to be interacting with each other, it is, in fact, stars.  Its long trails and the gas spreading from both of them gives the impression that these two have just collided with each other very fast.  In the lower left of the image is the bowling-ball-sized galaxy. Scientists say that the interaction between two galaxies occurs over a long time period, however, rarely will the galaxies collide with each other.  These galaxies are so close to each other in space that they form a cluster, which scientists have named NGC 7764A.  The mass between these galaxies has caused the formation of a shape at the end that, from the point of view of our solar system, resembles the starship known as the USS Enterprise from Star Trek. This gr...
Post a Comment
Read more