Chandra Release - September 20, 1999

Visual Description: Supernovas Portrait Gallery

E0102-72
The Chandra X-ray Observatory image of E0102-72 reveals a roughly circular nebula floating against the deep black of space. The ring is glowing in bright blue-white tones with a mottled texture. Nestled inside this ring is some more texture and one strong and a couple faint wheel-like spokes. E0102-72 is a supernova remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. This galaxy is 190,000 light years from Earth. E0102 -72, which is approximately a thousand years old, is believed to have resulted from the explosion of a massive star. Stretching across forty light years of space, the multi-million degree source resembles a flaming cosmic wheel.

G21.5-0.9
This Chandra X-ray Observatory image shows G21.5-0.9, a supernova remnant. A luminous nebula sits at the center of the image shining in intense fuchsia‑pink and violet tone. Surrounding it is a broad, diffuse halo in softer blue-purplish hues, stretching outward like a glowing mist. This outer halo has a mottled and gaseous texture with irregularities. Beyond that is a stark black background.  The structure resembles a nested cosmic set—an inner electric nebula encased within a ghostly outer envelope. The identification of G21.5-0.9 as the remnant of a supernova explosion is based on indirect evidence from radio and X-ray observations. At both radio and X-ray wavelengths, it appears as a round patch in the sky. The favored theory is that the high-energy electrons responsible for both the radio and X-ray emission are produced by a rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron star left behind when a massive star exploded some 40,000 years ago.

PSR 0540-69
PSR 0540-69 is a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, making a complete rotation every one-twentieth of a second. The striking bright pink‑white point anchors the center is the energetic pulsar itself, a city-sized collapsed star emitting powerful X-rays. Around it, a curving arc or hook of amber‑orange glow sweeps outward, wispy tendrils against the pitch-black space. This object is about 1,000 years old and is surrounded by a large cloud of gas and high-energy particles. The surrounding cloud is powered by the conversion of rotational energy of the neutron star into high energy particles through the combined action of rapid rotation and a strong magnetic field. PSR 0540-69 is 160,000 light years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one the Milky Way's small satellite galaxies.