韦伯望远镜发现了一颗爆炸的恒星
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new view of Cassiopeia A (Cas A) in near-infrared light is giving astronomers hints at the dynamical processes occurring within the supernova remnant. Tiny clumps represented in bright pink and orange make up the supernova’s inner shell, and are comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself. A large, striated blob at the bottom right corner of the image, nicknamed Baby Cas A, is one of the few light echoes visible NIRCam’s field of view. In this image, red, green, and blue were assigned to Webb’s NIRCam data at 4.4, 3.56, and 1.62 microns (F444W, F356W, and F162M, respectively).
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent)
Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) shines in a new image from Dec. 10, 2023, from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) view of Cas A displays this stellar explosion at a resolution previously unreachable at these wavelengths, revealing intricate details of the expanding shell of material slamming into the gas shed by the star before it exploded.
Cas A is one of the most well-studied supernova remnants in all the cosmos. Over the years, ground-based and space-based observatories, including NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and retired Spitzer Space Telescope have assembled a multiwavelength picture of the object’s remnant.
However, astronomers have now entered a new era in the study of Cas A. In April 2023, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) started this chapter, unveiling new and unexpected features within the inner shell of the supernova remnant. Many of those features are invisible in the new NIRCam image, and astronomers are investigating why.
Read on to find out what we can learn from this new image of Cassiopeia A.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent)
NASA的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜在近红外光下拍摄的仙后A（Cas A）的新照片，给天文学家提供了超新星遗迹内部发生的动力学过程的线索。亮粉色和橙色的小团块构成了超新星的内壳，由恒星本身的硫、氧、氩和氖组成。图片右下角有一个巨大的条纹斑点，昵称为小仙后A，是NIRCam视野中少数可见的光回波之一。在这张图像中，红色、绿色和蓝色分别被分配给韦伯NIRCam的数据，分别为4.4微米、3.56微米和1.62微米（分别为F444W、F356W和F162M）。
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent)
2023年12月10日，NASA的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜拍摄了一张新的超新星遗迹仙后A（Cas A）。韦布的仙后A近红外相机（NIRCam）视图以以前在这些波长下无法达到的分辨率显示了这颗恒星的爆炸，揭示了爆炸前膨胀的物质外壳猛烈撞击恒星释放的气体的复杂细节。
仙后A是整个宇宙中被研究得最透彻的超新星遗迹之一。多年来，地面和太空天文台，包括NASA的钱德拉X射线天文台，哈勃太空望远镜和退休的斯皮策太空望远镜，已经收集了该超新星遗迹的多波长照片。
然而，天文学家现在已经进入了仙后A研究的新时代。2023年4月，韦伯的中红外仪器（MIRI）开始了这一篇章，揭示了超新星遗迹内壳层内新的、意想不到的特征。其中许多特征在新的NIRCam图像中是不可见的，天文学家正在调查原因。
图片来源: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent)