Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 August 23
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                           Supernova Remnant CTA 1
                 Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Thomas Lelu

   Explanation: There is a [5]quiet pulsar at the heart of CTA 1. The
   supernova remnant was [6]discovered as a source of emission [7]at radio
   wavelengths by astronomers in 1960 and since identified as the result
   of the death explosion of a massive star. But no radio pulses were
   detected from the expected pulsar, the [8]rotating neutron star remnant
   of the massive star's collapsed core. Seen about 10,000 years after the
   initial supernova explosion, the interstellar debris cloud is faint at
   optical wavelengths. CTA 1's visible wavelength emission from still
   expanding shock fronts is revealed in [9]this deep telescopic image, a
   frame that spans about 2 degrees across a starfield in the northern
   constellation of Cepheus. While no pulsar has since been found at radio
   wavelengths, in 2008 the [10]Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected
   pulsed emission from CTA 1, identifying the supernova remnant's
   rotating neutron star. The source has been recognized as the first in a
   growing class of pulsars that are quiet at radio wavelengths but
   [11]pulse in high-energy gamma-rays.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [27]Specific rights apply.
               [28]NASA Web Privacy, [29]Accessibility Notices
                A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC,
                         [33]NASA Science Activation
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2408/CTA1_15_75_Lelu2048.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.astrophotographie-lorraine.com/
   5. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aao7228
   6. https://www.deepskycorner.ch/obj/cta1.en.php
   7. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/05_radiowaves/
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240723.html
   9. https://www.astrobin.com/3vfxec/0/
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/fermi
  11. https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasas-fermi-telescope-discovers-first-gamma-ray-only-pulsar/
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240822.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240823
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240824.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/