Chandra Release - September 6, 2001

Visual Description: 3C 58

 3C58 is a Chandra X-ray Observatory image of a supernova remnant, which is a celestial object formed from the explosion of a massive star. The image features a purple object on a black background, with a bright white spot in the center. This white spot is the central part of the supernova remnant 3C58, which is about 10,000 light-years away from Earth. The structure of this supernova remnant has a diamond-like shape, if the diamond is rotated so that the longest part goes left to right. The shape is created by the force of the explosion that shaped the debris. The bright white spot in the center represents the core of the original star that caused the supernova explosion. Overall, Chandra's image of 3C58, the remains of a supernova observed on Earth in 1181 AD, shows a rapidly rotating neutron star embedded in a cloud of high-energy particles. The data revealed that the neutron star, or pulsar, is rotating about 15 times a second, and is slowing down at the rate of about 10 microseconds per year.