|
Collection:
|
|
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
|
|
Title:
|
|
Circle of Ashes
Title
Circle of Ashes
Title
|
|
Original Caption Released with Image:
|
|
Circle of Ashes
This plot tells astronomers that a pulsar, the remnant of a stellar explosion, is surrounded by a disk of its own ashes. The disk, revealed by the two data points at the far right from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, is the first ever found around a pulsar. Astronomers believe planets might rise up out of these stellar ashes.
The data in this plot, or spectrum, were taken by ground-based telescopes and Spitzer. They show that light from around the pulsar can be divided into two categories: direct light from the pulsar, and light from the dusty disk swirling around the pulsar. This excess light was detected by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Dust gives off more infrared light than the pulsar because it's cooler.
The pulsar, called 4U 0142 61, was once a massive star, until about 100,000 years ago, when it blew up in a supernova explosion and scattered dusty debris into space. Some of that debris was captured into what astronomers refer to as a "fallback disk," now circling the leftover stellar core, or pulsar. The disk resembles protoplanetary disks around young stars, out of which planets are thought to be born.
The data have been corrected to remove the effects of light scattering from dust that lies between Earth and the pulsar.
The ground-based data is from the Keck I telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Circle of Ashes
This plot tells astronomers that a pulsar, the remnant of a stellar explosion, is surrounded by a disk of its own ashes. The disk, revealed by the two data points at the far right from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, is the first ever found around a pulsar. Astronomers believe planets might rise up out of these stellar ashes.
The data in this plot, or spectrum, were taken by ground-based telescopes and Spitzer. They show that light from around the pulsar can be divided into two categories: direct light from the pulsar, and light from the dusty disk swirling around the pulsar. This excess light was detected by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Dust gives off more infrared light than the pulsar because it's cooler.
The pulsar, called 4U 0142 61, was once a massive star, until about 100,000 years ago, when it blew up in a supernova explosion and scattered dusty debris into space. Some of that debris was captured into what astronomers refer to as a "fallback disk," now circling the leftover stellar core, or pulsar. The disk resembles protoplanetary disks around young stars, out of which planets are thought to be born.
The data have been corrected to remove the effects of light scattering from dust that lies between Earth and the pulsar.
The ground-based data is from the Keck I telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
Original Caption Released with Image
|
|
Image Credit:
|
|
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT
Image Credit
|
|
Produced By:
|
|
California Institute of Technology
Produced_By
California Institute of Technology
Produced By
|
|
Mission:
|
|
Keck Observatory
Mission
Keck Observatory
Mission
|
|
Mission:
|
|
Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Mission
Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Mission
|
|
Spacecraft:
|
|
Keck I Telescope
Spacecraft
Keck I Telescope
Spacecraft
|
|
Spacecraft:
|
|
Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Spacecraft
Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Spacecraft
|
|
Instrument:
|
|
Keck I Telescope
Instrument
Keck I Telescope
Instrument
|
|
Instrument:
|
|
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
Instrument
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
Instrument
|
|
Product Size:
|
|
2571 samples x 2130 lines
Product_Size
2571 samples x 2130 lines
Product Size
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
SST
facet_what
SST
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Keck Observatory
facet_what
Keck Observatory
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
California
facet_where
California
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Hawaii
facet_where
Hawaii
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
|
|
Image #:
|
|
PIA08041
|
|
UID:
|
|
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08041
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08041
UID
|
|
orignial url:
|
orignial_url
orignial url
|
