NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has captured a stunning image of a celestial object that resembles the “Hand of God”. The image shows a pulsar wind nebula, produced by the dense remnant of a star that exploded in a supernova.
What’s left behind is a pulsar, called PSR B1509-58 (B1509 for short), which spins around 7 times per second blowing a wind of particles into material ejected during the star’s death throes. As these particles interact with nearby magnetic fields, they produce an X-ray glow in the shape of a hand.
The image reveals unprecedented details of the celestial object, including a bright X-ray jet directed from the pulsar to the “wrist” of the hand. The polarization at the start of the jet is low, which NASA says is likely because this is a turbulent region with complex, tangled magnetic fields associated with the generation of high-energy particles.
The cosmic “hand of God” photo was produced when a star exploded and ejected an enormous cloud of material, which NuSTAR glimpsed in high-energy X-rays, shown in blue in the photo. Lower-energy X-ray light previously detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory is shown in green and red.
The image has been widely shared on social media and has garnered attention from astronomy enthusiasts worldwide. It is yet another example of how space exploration continues to captivate people’s imaginations and inspire awe and wonder.
