Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/Rutgers/J.Hughes
A Star Turned Inside Out
When a high mass star explodes it produces large cloud of gas called a
supernova remnant. The material which makes up the remnant was originally
contained inside the star, so by studying this material astronomers can in
effect study the stellar interior. The X-ray
image of the Cas A supernova remnant shown above, obtained by the Chandra X-ray observatory, has given
astronomers an unbelievably detailed look at the composition of the gas in
the remnant. The colors represent the energy of the detected X-rays (red,
low energy; green, medium; and blue, high energy X-rays). Through a
detailed analysis of this image astronomers at
Rutgers University have been able to determine the local composition
of the gas. What they found was a surprise: their analysis showed that the
outer regions of the nebula must have formed deep in the stellar interior,
while material near the center of the nebula formed in outer layers of the
stellar interior. In effect, the supernova explosion turned the star
inside out.
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Page Author: Dr. Michael F.
Corcoran
Last modified September 24, 2001
