The Chandra X-ray Observatory shows us how a neutron star has “fractured a bone” to our galaxy

As if it were the radiography of a broken bone, the last image that has come to us from NASA shows us the image of a whitish structure whose natural silhouette has been “fractured” by the passage of a mysterious object. An object in whose nature we have been able to investigate thanks precisely to the recent observations.

The fracture. The new image It was captured Combining captures of different astronomical observatories and shows us the fracture in G359.13142-0.20005 (abbreviated as G359.13) as well as the object that would have caused this fracture: a neutron star or pulsar.

The “bone.” G359.13, the “bone” of this photo, is a cosmic structure called sometimes also as “snake.” This cosmic filament expands over about 230 light years and is about 26,000 light years from the earth, near the core of our galaxy.

Filaments that emit radio waves that make them detectable from our planet. These structures are directed, NASA explainsby magnetic fields that run in parallel to them. The radio waves that come to us are caused by particles loaded with energy that form spirals along these magnetic fields.

Joint work. The image has been possible Thanks to the combination of observations taken in different segments of the electromagnetic spectrum. As we pointed out, the “bone” of the photo is a visible structure in radio lengths, and its observation has been possible thanks to the Radiolescopes of the Merkat Observatory.

When “diagnosing” the cause of this fracture, however, resort to X -rays. Those of Chandra Space Observatoryto be more exact. The reason is that the main suspect of causing this fracture is hidden in the structure itself. Fortunately, this mysterious object also emits in the frequency of X -rays, since what is hidden after this “fracture” seems to be a neutron star or, probably, a pulsar.

According to NASA, this object would be emitting light both in the form of radio waves and X -ray, to which an additional x -ray source caused by electrons and positrons (its antiparticles) accelerated to large energies should be added.

To millions of km/h. The fracture itself would have been caused by the irruption of the pulsar at exorbitant speeds. According to astronomer estimation, this speed would be between 1.6 million and 3.2 million kilometers per hour.

A study linked to this image was published last year In an article In the magazine Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,

Change perspective. The image is a memory that sometimes things are not what they seem. The light that our eyes perceive is a tiny fraction of the emissions that exist in the cosmos. Sometimes the invisible to our eyes can be made visible using the correct instruments, while other times the opaque may not be so much if we change perspective.

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Image | NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ./f. Yusef-Zadeh et al; RF/Sarao/Meerkat; NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk