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X-ray, Radio & nearIR Images of G327.1-1.1
G327.1-1.1 is the aftermath of a massive star that exploded and left behind a highly magnetic, rapidly spinning neutron star called a pulsar. This pulsar is producing a wind of relativistic particles, seen in X-rays by Chandra and XMM-Newton as well as in the radio data. The large red circle shows radio emission from the blast wave, and the composite image also contains infrared data from the 2MASS survey that show the stars in the field. The X-ray observations allow scientists to estimate the energy released during the supernova explosion and the age of the remnant, as well as the amount of material being swept up as the blast wave from the explosion expands.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/T.Temim et al, ESA/XMM-Newton; Radio: SIFA/MOST; Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Infrared: UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF/2MASS); Optical (DSS))
G327.1-1.1 is the aftermath of a massive star that exploded and left behind a highly magnetic, rapidly spinning neutron star called a pulsar. This pulsar is producing a wind of relativistic particles, seen in X-rays by Chandra and XMM-Newton as well as in the radio data. The large red circle shows radio emission from the blast wave, and the composite image also contains infrared data from the 2MASS survey that show the stars in the field. The X-ray observations allow scientists to estimate the energy released during the supernova explosion and the age of the remnant, as well as the amount of material being swept up as the blast wave from the explosion expands.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/T.Temim et al, ESA/XMM-Newton; Radio: SIFA/MOST; Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Infrared: UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF/2MASS); Optical (DSS))
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Labeled X-ray, Radio & nearIR Images of G327.1-1.1
No clear explanation is yet known for the unusual nature of G327.1-1.1, including the off-center position of the pulsar wind nebula seen in the radio data and the comet-like shape of the X-ray emission. One possibility is that we are seeing the effects of a shock wave bouncing backwards off of the shell of material swept up by the blast wave produced by the explosion, the so-called "reverse shock" from the blast wave. The pulsar is moving upwards, away from the center of the explosion, but the pulsar wind nebula is being swept towards the bottom-left of the image by the reverse shock wave that is also traveling towards the bottom-left. The direction of the pulsar's motion and of the reverse shock are shown in this labeled version.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/T.Temim et al, ESA/XMM-Newton; Radio: SIFA/MOST; Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Infrared: UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF/2MASS); Optical (DSS))
No clear explanation is yet known for the unusual nature of G327.1-1.1, including the off-center position of the pulsar wind nebula seen in the radio data and the comet-like shape of the X-ray emission. One possibility is that we are seeing the effects of a shock wave bouncing backwards off of the shell of material swept up by the blast wave produced by the explosion, the so-called "reverse shock" from the blast wave. The pulsar is moving upwards, away from the center of the explosion, but the pulsar wind nebula is being swept towards the bottom-left of the image by the reverse shock wave that is also traveling towards the bottom-left. The direction of the pulsar's motion and of the reverse shock are shown in this labeled version.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/T.Temim et al, ESA/XMM-Newton; Radio: SIFA/MOST; Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Infrared: UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF/2MASS); Optical (DSS))
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G327.1-1.1 with Scale Bar
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/T.Temim et al. and ESA/XMM-Newton Radio: SIFA/MOST and CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Infrared: UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF/2MASS
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/T.Temim et al. and ESA/XMM-Newton Radio: SIFA/MOST and CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Infrared: UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF/2MASS
Return to G327.1-1.1 (October 05, 2010)
Revised: November 30, 2022