Starship Asterisk*

This release features a composite image of the Tycho supernova remnant, a spherical neon pink cloud set against a starry sky. The cloud is ejected material still propagating from a star that exploded in 1572, as seen from Earth.

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Credits: X-ray (IXPE: NASA/ASI/MSFC/INAF/R. Ferrazzoli, et al.),
(Chandra: NASA/CXC/RIKEN & GSFC/T. Sato et al.) Optical: DSS
Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, L. Frattare & N. Wolk
Chandra X-ray: red & blue; IXPE X-ray: purple & white; Optical: white, red, blue

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This image provides a new look at the Tycho supernova remnant, named for Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe who noticed the bright glow of this new “star” in the constellation Cassiopeia more than 450 years ago. Astronomers used NASA’S Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to study polarized light from Tycho, the debris from an exploded star, as described in IXPE’s latest press release. IXPE revealed, for the first time, the geometry of the magnetic fields close to the supernova’s blast wave, which is still propagating from the initial explosion and forms a boundary around the ejected material. Understanding the magnetic field geometry allows scientists to further investigate how particles are accelerated there. ...

Chandra has repeatedly observed the Tycho supernova remnant over its decades of operations, helping researchers make landmark discoveries about this fascinating formation. With its ability to identify and track polarized X-ray light, IXPE builds on the groundwork laid by Chandra. A thin red line around the outside of the supernova remnant, seen in the Chandra data, shows where electrons have been accelerated to high energies by spiraling around magnetic fields lines and producing X-rays. This provides evidence that supernova remnants are a major source of energetic particles, including electrons and protons, which continually bombard Earth’s atmosphere.

The Tycho supernova is classified as a Type Ia. This violent explosion occurs when a white dwarf star in a binary system pulls material off its companion star until it reaches a mass limit, or when two white dwarfs merge. The obliteration of the white dwarf sends debris hurtling into space at tremendous speeds. ...

• arXiv > astro-ph > arXiv:2301.07397 > 18 Jan 2023 (v1), 22 Jan 2023 (v2)