In an Instagram post laden with references to Taylor Swift published on Saturday, NASA revealed a picture of the stellar remnants of a supernova that occurred roughly 9,000 light-years away as captured by the Chandra X-Ray observatory. The “most intense” whirling neutron star or pulsar image ever taken in 2016 has piqued the internet’s interest.
You’re a Swiftie, right? We are, too,” the space agency wrote.
The image, which shows the supernova remains, was created by combining three bands of X-ray light that the NASA Chandra X-Ray observatory had seen. According to the observatory, the lowest energy X-rays are shown in red, the middle energy ones in green, and the highest energy ones in blue.
The catastrophic explosion of a large star near the end of its life, with a mass at least five times that of the Sun, is referred to as a “supernova.” It is extraordinarily bright.
The relevant supernova remnant, RCW 103, was seen by a number of X-ray telescopes, most notably the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Gamma-ray bursts, which are intense flashes of gamma radiation caused by the collapse of stars into black holes, are discovered by Swift Observatory using optical, X-ray, and ultraviolet wavelengths.
Blank space that is as dark as midnight is scattered with small white stars across the image. The neutron star, which is bright blue, is surrounded by a swirling maze of blue, green, yellow, purple, and red in the middle of the image, according to NASA.
With more than 1.2 million likes, the stunning photo has piqued Instagram users’ insatiable curiosity.
“This is really lovely. Our universe can be so visually stunning, a commentator said.
