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More Images: Cosmic Hand Hitting a Wall
X-ray Images of MSH 15-52
(Credit: NASA/SAO/NCSU/Borkowski et al.)
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Click for large jpg 2004 X-ray
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Click for large jpg 2008 X-ray
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Click for large jpg 2018 X-ray
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Astronomers have captured the movement of the expanding remains of an exploded star. Chandra data taken over 14 years show a blast wave and debris moving away from the site of the explosion. The graphics present the entire hand-shaped nebula observed by Chandra, which was produced by the pulsar left behind after the explosion. The close-ups highlight movement in the explosion's blast wave in a region located near one of the "fingertips". The fixed squares enclose clumps of magnesium and neon that likely formed in the star before it exploded and shot into space once the star blew up. Astronomers estimate that it has slowed down from the initial explosion after striking a neighboring gas cloud, but is still moving at nearly 9 million miles per hour.


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