Carbon Atmosphere Discovered On Neutron Star

Chandra_438_1024

chandra_438 November 4th, 2009

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Southampton/W. Ho et al.; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

New evidence from Chandra suggests that the neutron star at the center of the Cas A supernova remnant has an ultra-thin carbon atmosphere. This uniform carbon atmosphere would explain the lack of X-ray pulsations from this object because the neutron star would be unlikely to display any changes as it rotates. The absence of pulsations has been a mystery since the neutron star was discovered in Chandras First Light image over a decade ago. The carbon atmosphere is thought to be only about four inches thick, with a density similar to diamond and a pressure more than ten times that found at the center of the Earth.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/cassio/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

Image Details

Image Type
Collage
Object Name
Cas A Cassiopeia A
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Supernova
Nebula > Type > Supernova Remnant

Distance

Universescale1
11,000 light years
Chandra_438_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 23m 28.2s
DEC = 58° 48’ 43.1”
Orientation
North is 0.6° CCW
Field of View
4.4 x 2.9 arcminutes
Constellation
Cassiopeia

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 1.24 nm
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 550.0 pm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 250.0 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Chandra_438_1280
×
ID
438
Subject Category
B.3.1.8   B.4.1.4  
Subject Name
Cas A, Cassiopeia A
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Southampton/W. Ho et al.; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
Release Date
2009-11-04
Lightyears
11,000
Redshift
11,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/cassio/
Type
Collage
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Chandra, Chandra
Instrument
ACIS, ACIS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
1.24, 0.55, 0.25
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
350.8674411, 58.8119786
Reference Dimension
2700.0, 1809.0
Reference Pixel
1351.0, 905.5
Scale
2.7113e-05, 2.7113e-05
Rotation
0.6
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
WCS retrieved using CXCs PinpointWCS
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
cassio.tif
Metadata Date
2102-03-26
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
11,000 light years

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