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Vela Pulsar:
Wide-Angle View Of Vela Pulsar
In this wide-angle view, the Vela
pulsar and its pulsar wind nebula are seen against a
background of clouds, or filaments, of multi-million
degree Celsius gas. These clouds are part of a
huge sphere of hot expanding gas produced by the
supernova explosion associated with the creation of the
Vela pulsar about 10,000 years ago. As the ejecta from
the explosion expanded into space and collided with the
surrounding interstellar gas, shock waves were formed
and heated the gas and ejecta to millions of degrees.
The sphere of hot gas is about 100 light years across,
15 times larger than the region shown in this image,
and is expanding at a speed of about 400,000
km/hr.
The Vela pulsar, located in the center of the image
(yellow), is considered to be one of Chandra’s
most tantalizing images to date. It reveals a striking,
almost unbelievable, structure consisting of bright
rings and jets of matter. Such structures indicate that
mighty ordering forces must be at work amidst the chaos
of the aftermath of a supernova explosion. Forces can
harness the energy of thousands of suns and transform
that energy into a tornado of high-energy particles
that astronomers refer to as a "pulsar wind nebula."
The supernova that produced the Vela pulsar and
supernova remnant must have appeared extraordinarily
bright on Earth, some 50 times brighter than Venus.
Since no records of the event are known to exist, one
can only imagine what Neolithic people must have
thought of it.
| Fast Facts for Vela Pulsar (Wide-Field View): |
| Credit |
NASA/SAO/CXC |
| Scale |
Image is 30 arcmin per side. |
| Category |
Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 08h 35m 20.70s | Dec -45º 10' 35.70" |
| Constellation |
Vela |
| Observation Dates |
January 20, 2000 & February 21, 2000
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| Observation Time |
27 hours |
| Obs. IDs |
1518, 364
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| Color Code |
Intensity |
| Instrument |
Obs. IDs 1518, 364, 1966 used HRC All others used ACIS
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| Release Date |
July 02, 2001 |
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