The Cassiopeia A supernova recently exhibited a bizarre movement. According to a new study, the inner nebula of the supernova is being displaced roughly to an outward direction.
The research, led by scholars from Harvard University and the University of Amsterdam, concluded a potential interference that blocks the supernova's movements.
Cassiopeia A Supernova Expansion
One of the most famous objects in the sky - is the Cassiopeia. A supernova remnant - will be on display like never before, thanks to NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and a new project from the Smithsonian Institution. A new three-dimensional (3D) viewer, unveiled this week, will allow users to interact with many one-of-a-kind objects from the Smithsonian as part of a large-scale effort to digitize many of the Institution's objects and artifacts.
Cassiopeia A is considered a remnant of a stellar body that exploded inside the greater Cassiopeia constellation. This popular constellation is near our solar system, located about 11,000 lightyears away in space.
From the explosion in Cassiopeia, a burst of light was emitted and reached Earth not until 1670. Alongside the bright luminance, the catastrophe gave birth to thick clouds of dust and gaseous compounds that made it impossible for the naked eye and even ground-based instruments to glimpse the event.
The Cassiopeia A explosion still exists up to this date, expanding at approximately 4,000 to 6,000 kilometers per second from its original location. The estimated temperatures from the burst reach a heat at about 30 million degrees Celsius.
According to a report by PhysOrg, the expansion was also induced by the gas particles present on the dead star's perimeter. Today, Cassiopeia A occupies a space that measures about 16 lightyears across.
The new study's authors examined several data collected in almost two decades by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Based on the observations, the nebula in the inner regions of the western part of the Cassiopeia A moves inward instead of a natural outward displacement. Due to the bizarre activity, the acceleration and deceleration rates of the outer shock wave were also measured.
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Inward Movement Due to Collision
University of Amsterdam's Anton Pannekoek Institute/GRAPPA expert and lead of the study Jacco Vink explained that the backward displacement occurring on the Cassiopeia A's west translates to a couple of reasons.
The backward movement is either caused by a vacuum hole that causes the hot shell to locally move inwards, or the nebula stumbled upon a different unknown material. Based on the models analyzed by the team, it was found that the second guess most likely is the suspect.
Computer models displayed a prediction that matched what the team computed, in which the shock decreases in acceleration and increases after the collision.
To provide additional evidence of the collision, a separate Italian group investigated the event. It was found in their research that the shock wave has font through a blocking shell of gas particles.
The same shell most probably materialized following the star's explosion in the constellation. In 2019, Vink's group and the Italian scholars presented matching results from the preliminary observations. Vink explained that the models from each group had puzzle pieces falling into their respective places.
The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, has a preprint available at arXiv, titled "Anton Pannekoek Institute/GRAPPA."
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