X-ray of hand-shaped structure in space reveals 'bones of a ghostly cosmic hand'

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) once shared a stunning image of a nebula of energy and particles blown by a pulsar left behind after a star exploded. The image blew people away as it looked like a human hand.

Shared by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the caption of the post on Instagram read: "This famous hand-shaped structure is a nebula of energy & particles blown by a pulsar left behind after a star exploded."

"Watch as the blast wave from the explosion moves at nearly 9 million miles (14 million kilometres) per hour in NASA Chandra observations spanning 14 years," it had added.

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Now, astronomers have used two of NASA's X-ray space telescopes, combining their imaging powers, to unveil the magnetic field "bones" of the hand-shaped structure.

NASA said in its report that the newest X-ray telescope, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), has observed MSH 15-52 for about 17 days.

As quoted by NASA, Roger Romani of Stanford University in California, who led the study, said: "The IXPE data gives us the first map of the magnetic field in the 'hand'. The charged particles producing the X-rays travel along the magnetic field, determining the basic shape of the nebula, like the bones do in a person's hand."

NASA said that according to IXPE, the magnetic field of the X-ray source determines the electric field direction of X-rays, which is called X-ray polarisation.

The degree of polarisation is exceptionally high in many sections of MSH 15-52, surpassing the maximum level predicted by the theoretical study.

That intensity requires a highly consistent and straight magnetic field, which implies that there is little turbulence in those areas of the pulsar wind nebula.

"We're all familiar with X-rays as a diagnostic medical tool for humans. Here we're using X-rays in a different way, but they are again revealing information that is otherwise hidden from us," said co-author Josephine Wong, also of Stanford.

As per NASA's report, one interesting feature of MSH 15-52 is a bright X-ray jet directed from the pulsar to the "wrist" at the bottom of the image.

NASA said in its report: "The new IXPE data reveal that the polarization at the start of the jet is low, likely because this is a turbulent region with complex, tangled magnetic fields associated with the generation of high-energy particles."

It added, "By the end of the jet the magnetic field lines appear to straighten and become much more uniform, causing the polarization to become much larger."

As per NASA, these findings suggest that particles move to regions where the magnetic field is uniform along the wrist, fingers, and thumb after receiving an energy boost in complicated turbulence regions close to the pulsar at the base of the palm.

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