Firehose-Like Jet Observed In Action
chandra_91 June 30th, 2003
Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/G.Pavlov et al.
The combined action of the intense magnetic field and fast rotation of the Vela pulsar has produced a jet of high-energy charged particles that shoots out 3 trillion miles in front of the moving pulsar. As the Chandra images in this montage show, the jet whips about erratically at half the speed of light. The Vela jet resembles a cosmic firehose made of magnetic fields, which confine the charged particles. When the hose bends, it kinks rapidly due to increased pressure at the bends in the hose. The bright blobs in the jet are thought to be a manifestation of the increased magnetic field and particle pressure at the kinks in the jet. The activity of the Vela pulsar jet could also help to understand the nature of the enormous jets coming from supermassive black holes.
Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory
Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/vela_pulsar/
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
Distance
Position Details
Color Mapping
- ID
- 91
- Subject Category
- B.3.1.9.1
- Subject Name
- Vela Pulsar Jet
- Credits
- NASA/CXC/PSU/G.Pavlov et al.
- Release Date
- 2003-06-30
- Lightyears
- 1e3
- Redshift
- 1e3
- Reference Url
- http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/vela_pulsar/
- Type
- Observation
- Image Quality
- Good
- Distance Notes
- Facility
- Chandra, Chandra, Chandra, Chandra
- Instrument
- ACIS, ACIS, ACIS, ACIS
- Color Assignment
- Pseudocolor, Pseudocolor, Pseudocolor, Pseudocolor
- Band
- X-ray, X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
- Bandpass
- X-ray, X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
- Central Wavelength
- 0.8267, 0.8267, 0.8267, 0.8267
- Start Time
- 2000-11-30T15:12:28, 2001-12-11T17:49:07, 2001-12-29T09:58:30, 2002-04-03T15:44:31
- Integration Time
- 19370, 19240, 19180, 20180
- Dataset ID
- Notes
- Coordinate Frame
- ICRS
- Equinox
- J2000
- Reference Value
- 128.835833, -45.176389
- Reference Dimension
- Reference Pixel
- Scale
- Rotation
- Coordinate System Projection:
- TAN
- Quality
- Position
- 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
- 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 Center
- Publisher ID
- chandra
- Resource ID
- vela_pulsar_xray.tif
- Resource URL
- http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/vela_pulsar/vela_pulsar_xray.tif
- Related Resources
- Metadata Date
- 2012-07-27T15:11:22-04:00
- Metadata Version
- 1.2
Detailed color mapping information coming soon...
