Chandra Reveals Two Faces of Supernova Power

Chandra_70_1024

chandra_70 April 20th, 2004

Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

Chandra's image of SNR 0540-69.3 reveals two aspects of the enormous power released when a massive star explodes. An implosion crushed material into an extremely dense (10 miles in diameter) neutron star, triggering an explosion that sent a shock wave rumbling through space at speeds in excess of 5 million miles per hour. The central intense white blaze of high-energy particles about 3 light years across was created by a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar. Surrounding the white blaze is a shell of hot gas 40 light years in diameter that marks the location of the supernova shock wave. The colors red, green and blue in the image correspond to low, medium and high-energy X-rays, respectively.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/snr0540/

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

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

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
SNR 0540-69.3
Subject - Local Universe
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Supernova
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Neutron Star > Pulsar

Distance Details Distance

Universescale2
160,000 light years
Chandra_70_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 40m 11.5s
DEC = -69° 19’ 54.6”
Orientation
North is 3.5° CW
Field of View
1.7 x 1.7 arcminutes
Constellation
Dorado

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 1.13 nm
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 860.0 pm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 410.0 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Chandra_70_1280
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ID
70
Subject Category
C.3.1.8   C.3.1.9.1  
Subject Name
SNR 0540-69.3
Credits
NASA/CXC/SAO
Release Date
2004-04-20
Lightyears
160,000
Redshift
160,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/snr0540/
Type
Observation
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
1.13, 0.86, 0.41
Start Time
1999-11-22T17:54:36, 1999-11-22T17:54:36, 1999-11-22T17:54:36
Integration Time
Dataset ID
119, 119, 119
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
85.0477402, -69.3318278
Reference Dimension
2400.0, 2400.0
Reference Pixel
1201.0, 1201.0
Scale
1.1701e-05, 1.1700996e-05
Rotation
-3.49
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 Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
snr0540_xray.tif
Resource URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/snr0540/snr0540_xray.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2012-03-23T11:43:47-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
160,000 light years

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