CAS A XMM-Newton abundance maps
Minimum credit line: Image courtesy of R.Willingale and ESA. (for details, see Conditions of Use).
Credit: ESA/XMM-Newton, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The image above can be displayed at full size and may be downloaded by clicking the image above.
| About this Image |
|---|
Cassiopeia A (Cas-A) is a young shell-shaped supernova remnant some 15 light years in diameter situated some 10 thousand light years away. It is the remains of a massive star which, having exhausted all its hydrogen fuel, exploded 320 years ago. The core of such a collapsing star can give rise to a neutron star or black hole. Its external parts are blown apart projecting stellar material, glowing in X-rays, into the surrounding interstellar medium.
The stellar material contains many heavy elements which have been forged from lighter elements in the progenitor star, and during the explosion process.
Using XMM-Newton EPIC-MOS cameras, Cas-A was targeted in late 2000 during the satellite's performance verification and calibration phase. The total observation time was practically 24 hours, collecting sufficient X-ray photons to allow a full spectral analysis of each individual pixel in a 15 x 15 grid covering the angular size of the remnant's X-ray image.
The matrix of nine abundance maps shows the distribution and abundance in Cassiopeia A of neon, magnesium, silicon, sulphur, argon, calcium, the iron-L and iron-K ionisation states and nickel, with a colour scale based on the solar values for these elements.
The maps clearly highlight large abundance variations of the X-ray emitting material across the face of the remnant. Iron abundance is seen to vary over the remnant with little correlation to other elements. The oxygen abundance, contrary to other elements, is much higher than predicted by theory.
| For More Information |
|---|
- Read the Press Release
- Read the Journal article
- Query XSA archive for XMM-Newton data in the field of CAS A
- Astronomical database entries for CAS A;
- Query SIMBAD for more CAS A data
- For unfamiliar terms, visit the XMM-Newton Astronomical Glossary
| Alternate Resolutions | (Help) |
|---|
This image is available in the following downloadable versions: Higher resolution versions of this image may be available, please contact the XMM-Newton HelpDesk.
Search the Image Gallery
To search the Image Gallery for a particular object, fill in the object name in the box below and click the Submit button.To search the Image Gallery for other images, fill in any of the fields below and click the Submit button.
For more search options, please use our Advanced Search form.