超新星加农炮抛射脉冲星J0002

2022年10月2日

Supernova Cannon Expels Pulsar J0002
Image Credit: 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.

Tomorrow’s picture: flyby europa

超新星加农炮抛射脉冲星J0002
影像提供: F. Schinzel et al. (NRAO, NSF), Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (DRAO), NASA (IRAS);
影像组合: Jayanne English (U. Manitoba)

说明: 什么能把中子星当炮弹抛射呢？超新星。大约在10,000年前，造成星云遗迹CTB 1的超新星，不但摧毁了一颗大质量恒星，更把它的刚形成的核心中子星（脉冲星）抛进银河系。这颗每秒8.7转的脉冲星，是用可自行下载的软体Einstein@Home，搜寻地球轨道上的费米伽玛射线天文台所拍摄之数据时发现的。秒速超过1,000公里的脉冲星PSR J0002+6216 (简称J0002)，已离开超新星遗迹CTB 1，而其行速也高到会让它离开我们的银河系。影像中，这颗脉冲星的光痕回指左下角的超新星遗迹。这幅主题影像，组合了极大阵列和DRAO电波天文台的无线电数据，以及NASA的IRAS 红外光天文卫星的资料库数据。超新星有时会像加农炮，而脉冲星有时像炮弹，这都是广为周知的事实，但超新星到底是如何完成这项壮举的，至今仍然不明。

明日的图片: flyby europa