NASA’s Chandra, Hubble Tune Into ‘Flame-Throwing’ Guitar Nebula

The guitar shape in the “Guitar Nebula” comes from bubbles blown by particles ejected from the pulsar through a steady wind as it moves through space. Images from Chandra taken in 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2021 have been combined with a single image in optical light from Palomar. X-rays from Chandra show a filament of energetic matter and antimatter particles, about two light-years long, blasting away from the pulsar (seen as the bright white dot). The movie shows how this filament has changed over two decades. An inset shows a closeup of the “guitar head” from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope also changing over time from 1994-2021.

Normally found only in heavy metal bands or certain post-apocalyptic films, a “flame-throwing guitar” has now been spotted moving through space. Astronomers have captured movies of this extreme cosmic object using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. The new movie of Chandra (red) and Palomar (blue) data helps break down what is playing … Continue reading NASA’s Chandra, Hubble Tune Into ‘Flame-Throwing’ Guitar Nebula

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