NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Watches Fast Blast Wave from Exploded Star0
- From Around the Web, Space
- June 25, 2021
A stellar structure known as the ‘Hand of God’ is a nebula of energy and particles blown by a pulsar left behind after a star exploded in our Milky Way Galaxy. Otherwise known as MSH 15-52 or G320.4-1.2, the object is located some 17,000 light-years away in the constellation of Circinus. Astronomers estimate that light from the supernova explosion reached Earth about 1,700 years ago, or when the Mayan empire was flourishing and the Jin dynasty ruled China. Previously, astronomers had released a full view of the structure. In a paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, they report how quickly the supernova remnant associated with the hand is moving, as it strikes a cloud of gas called RCW 89; the inner edge of this cloud forms a gas wall located about 35 light-years from the center of the explosion.
