NASA X-ray Telescopes Reveal the 'Bones' of a Ghostly Cosmic Hand

NASA X-ray Telescopes Reveal the 'Bones' of a Ghostly Cosmic Hand

Handout - In 2001, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory first observed the pulsar PSR B1509-58 and revealed that its pulsar wind nebula (referred to as MSH 15-52) resembles a human hand. Scientists say they have revealed the "bones" of a ghostly cosmic hand. Two of NASA’s X-ray space telescopes have combined their imaging powers to unveil the magnetic field “bones” of a remarkable hand-shaped structure in space. The space agency says that together these telescopes reveal the behaviour of a dead collapsed star that lives on through plumes of particles of energised matter and antimatter. In 2001, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory first observed the pulsar PSR B1509-58 and revealed that its pulsar wind nebula (referred to as MSH 15-52) resembles a human hand. The pulsar is located at the base of the “palm” of the nebula, while MSH 15-52 is located 16,000 light-years from Earth. Now, NASA’s newest X-ray telescope, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), has observed MSH 15-52 for about 17 days, the longest it h

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