NASA's Chandra Observatory telescope has photographed a massive, gorgeous x-ray nebula shaped like a giant hand. The image is a must-see.
The nebula, dubbed "Cosmic Hand", was formed by a collapsed star, and is generating massive amounts of electromagnetism.
It shows what appear to be ghostly blue fingers -- thumb and pinky clearly discernible from index, ring and middle digits -- reaching into a sparkling cloud of fiery red.
NASA says the display is caused by a young and powerful pulsar, known by the rather prosaic name of PSR B1509-58.
In this image, the lowest energy X-rays that Chandra detects are red, the medium range is green, and the most energetic ones are colored blue. Astronomers think that B1509 is about 1,700 years old and it is located about 17,000 light years away.
(Note: the Cosmic Hand is not to be confused with the Buddha Hand, as seen in Stephen Chow's masterpiece Kung Fu Hustle)
0 comments:
Post a Comment