Credit: Dr. Eric Gotthelf (Columbia)
An X-ray picture of the bright supernova remnant SN1006
This false color composite picture of the bright supernova remnant SN1006
was taken with the CCD cameras aboard the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and
Astrophysics (ASCA). The supernova remnant was formed after a star in
our Galaxy exploded. The expanding gas from the star is colliding into the
surrounding material. This collision produced a violent shock which
generates X-ray light. The bright regions in the picture shows the
locations of this shock along the rim of the remnant. The
energy spectrum of the bright 'caps' provides compelling evidence that
cosmic-rays are produced in supernova remnants.
The picture was processed at NASA's
Goddard Space flight Center, which supplied ASCA's telescope mirrors;
the CCD cameras were developed at MIT, and the satellite was launched and is
managed by the Institute
of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan.
Last Week *
HEA Dictionary * Archive
* Search HEAPOW
* Education
Each week the HEASARC
brings you new, exciting and beautiful images from X-ray and Gamma ray
astronomy. Check back each week and be sure to check out the HEAPOW archive!
Page Author: Dr. Michael F. Corcoran
Last modified November 22, 1999
