chandra_201 June 6th, 2000
Credit: NASA/PSU/G.Pavlov et al.
Chandra's bizarre image of the Vela pulsar (bright spot in the center) shows the details of a compact nebula that resembles a gigantic cosmic crossbow. This structure is created by a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar that spins out rings and jets of high-energy particles while shooting through space. As indicated by the green arrow, the jets point in the same direction as the motion of the pulsar. The swept back appearance of the nebula is due to the motion of the pulsar through the supernova remnant.
Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory
Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2000/vela/
Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA
Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Detailed color mapping information coming soon...
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