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Photos The Supernova Family
New radio images revealed that the X-rays were not mistaken -- the shock wave from the supernova was 16 percent larger than it had been in 1985. That could mean only one thing: The remnant was expanding very quickly and, therefore, is much younger than they thought. The discovery of G1.9 underlines the need to return to objects years later to see how they change, explained Roger Chevalier of the University of Virginia. "Hopefully this will spur people to go back and look at other small radio (wave-emitting) objects," Chevalier told Discovery News. Another clue to the youth of G1.9 is the kind of X-rays it was giving off. Normally, supernova remnants emit X-rays when the shockwave of the explosion slams into interstellar gas, which then heats up to X-ray-emitting temperatures. But G1.9 was giving off far more energetic X-rays -- more like what's expected from a particle accelerator. That requires particle speeds that would only be available soon after a star explodes, Reynolds explained to Discovery News. Only four supernovae have been found giving off those sorts of extreme X-rays, said Reynolds. "This is the most extreme of the four," he added. For all those powerful X-rays, however, G1.9 is also one of the most obscured supernovae in the galaxy, Reynolds said. That has led the researchers to believe that it's located somewhere in the crowded neighborhood of the galactic center. Gas and dust block visible light, but are transparent to radio waves, infrared light and some S-rays. Related Links: |
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