PSR B1509-58
PSR B1509-58 är en pulsar på cirka 17 000 ljusårs avstånd från jorden. Pulsaren ligger i stjärnbilden Cirkelpassaren och upptäcktes av Einsteinobservatoriet år 1982.[1] Pulsaren är uppskattningsvis 1 700 år gammal och befinner sig i en nebulosa som spänner över 150 ljusår.[2] NASA beskriver stjärnan som "en snabbt spinnande neutronstjärna som kastar ut energi i den omgivande rymden vilket skapar komplexa och intrikata strukturer, däribland en som liknar en stor kosmisk hand" (guds hand).[3]
Referenser
- Den här artikeln är helt eller delvis baserad på material från engelskspråkiga Wikipedia, PSR B1509-58, 11 februari 2010.
- ^ Seward F. D., Harnden Jr F. R., 1982, ApJ, 256, L45
- ^ ”PSR B1509-58: A Young Pulsar Shows its Hand”. Harvard. 10 februari 2010. http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/b1509/. Läst 8 april 2010.
- ^ ”NASA photos show giant cosmic hand”. CNN. 15 april 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/04/14/space.hand/index.html?iref=mpstoryview=. Läst 8 april 2010. ”[...] a rapidly spinning neutron star which is spewing energy out into the space around it to create complex and intriguing structures, including one that resembles a large cosmic hand”
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A Young Pulsar Shows Its Hand
A small, dense object only 12 miles in diameter is responsible for this beautiful X-ray nebula that spans 150 light years. At the center of this image made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a very young and powerful pulsar, known as PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short. The pulsar is a rapidly spinning neutron star which is spewing energy out into the space around it to create complex and intriguing structures, including one that resembles a large cosmic hand.
In this image, the lowest energy X-rays that Chandra detects are red, the medium range is green, and the most energetic ones are colored blue. Astronomers think that B1509 is about 1,700 years old and it is located about 17,000 light years away.
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.