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Pictured: The 'giant hand' in space

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Published Date: 14 April 2009
A SPINNING star resembling a giant cosmic hand has been captured in images taken by a Nasa observatory orbiting miles above the Earth's surface.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory pictured the star, which measures 12 miles across, about 17,000 light years from Earth.

The star, unromantically known as PSR B1509-58, spews energy out into the space around it, forming complicated patterns including one resembling a large hand complete with finger-like structures.

Nasa launched the observatory on July 23, 1999.

The full article contains 88 words and appears in scotsman.com newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 14 April 2009 11:47 AM
  • Source: scotsman.com
  • Location: Scotland
  • Related Topics: Space science
 
1

Tartan Viking,

14/04/2009 19:42:13
There's a giant symbolic hand hovering over the Lie-bour Party headquarters, but it's in a V shape.
2

uno.who,

Livingston 14/04/2009 20:32:39
That would be the giant "grasping hand" which collects the expenses then?
3

JC1,

Glasgow 14/04/2009 22:00:49
Thay would be the narrow minded nats who can't even look at a picture of one of the wonders of nature without making a snide comment
4

uno.who,

Livingston 14/04/2009 22:08:59
#3 Sorry to burst your narrow minded bubble, but I've always voted labour! If you don't think they're all a shower of thieving bar stewards then your living in cloud cuckoo land!
5

uno.who,

Livingston 14/04/2009 22:12:44
.... and as for a "wonder of nature" ... it's a bl**dy gas cloud and nowt else!
6

weeshooie1,

Wollongong 14/04/2009 23:50:36
The Chandra X-ray Observatory pictured the star, which measures 12 miles across, about 17,000 light years from Earth.

12 miles across? Surely that's a misprint.
7

uno.who,

Livingston 15/04/2009 00:09:49
#6 weeshooie1 - apparently not a misprint.

The object is a "pulsar" which is a rapidly spinning neutron star. Neutron stars are created when huge stars run out of fuel and collapse (hence the relatively small size). This one is spinning round about 7 times per sec. The combination of this rapid rotation and its surface magnetic field, which is trillions of times stronger than Earth, turns it into a powerful electromagnetic generator. This generator drives electrons and ions away from the star and as they move through the magnetized nebula, they radiate energy as seen by Chandra.

 

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