Exploded star blooms like a cosmic flower

Because the debris fields of exploded stars, known as supernova remnants, are very hot, energetic, and glow brightly in X-ray light, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has proven to be a valuable tool in studying them. The ...

Mach 1000 shock wave lights supernova remnant

When a star explodes as a supernova, it shines brightly for a few weeks or months before fading away. Yet the material blasted outward from the explosion still glows hundreds or thousands of years later, forming a picturesque ...

Suzaku Finds 'Fossil' Fireballs from Supernovae

(PhysOrg.com) -- Studies of two supernova remnants using the Japan-U.S. Suzaku observatory have revealed never-before-seen embers of the high-temperature fireballs that immediately followed the explosions. Even after thousands ...

Fermi's latest gamma-ray census highlights cosmic mysteries

(PhysOrg.com) -- Every three hours, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope scans the entire sky and deepens its portrait of the high-energy universe. Every year, the satellite's scientists reanalyze all of the data it has ...

X-ray laser takes aim at cosmic mystery

Scientists have used powerful X-rays from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, to study and measure, in atomic detail, a key process at work in extreme plasmas like those found ...

Milky Way's center unveils supernova 'dust factory'

Sifting through the center of the Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have made the first direct observations - using an infrared telescope aboard a modified Boeing 747 - of cosmic building-block dust resulting from an ancient ...

Remnant of an explosion with a powerful kick?

(PhysOrg.com) -- Vital clues about the devastating ends to the lives of massive stars can be found by studying the aftermath of their explosions. In its more than twelve years of science operations, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory ...

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