RX J0852.0-4622
Encyclopedia
RX J0852.0-4622 is a recently discovered supernova remnant
. The remnant is located in the southern sky in the constellation Vela ("sail"), and sits (in projection) inside the much larger and older Vela Supernova Remnant
. For this reason, RX J0852.0-4622 is often referred to as Vela Junior.
It was found in 1998 when gamma ray
emissions from the decay of 44Ti
nuclei were discovered using The Imaging Compton Telescope, (COMPTEL).
The distance to this object is controversial, but some scientists argue that the supernova remnant is only 650-700 light years away, and exploded comparatively recently (as seen from earth), perhaps within the last 800 years.
If the remnant is indeed young and nearby, its corresponding supernova
should have been visible from the Earth in about the year 1250. One difficulty with this interpretation is that there are no contemporary written reports of any supernova at that time or in that part of the sky.
The central compact object (CCO) was discovered in 2001. In the initial Chandra X-ray image and deeper images thereafter, no pulsations were detected from the compact remnant which is believed to be a neutron star.
Supernova remnant
A supernova remnant is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar material it sweeps up and shocks along the way.There are two...
. The remnant is located in the southern sky in the constellation Vela ("sail"), and sits (in projection) inside the much larger and older Vela Supernova Remnant
Vela Supernova Remnant
The Vela supernova remnant is a supernova remnant in the southern constellation Vela. Its source supernova exploded approximately 11,000-12,300 years ago...
. For this reason, RX J0852.0-4622 is often referred to as Vela Junior.
It was found in 1998 when gamma ray
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
emissions from the decay of 44Ti
Isotopes of titanium
Naturally occurring titanium is composed of 5 stable isotopes; 46Ti, 47Ti, 48Ti, 49Ti and 50Ti with 48Ti being the most abundant...
nuclei were discovered using The Imaging Compton Telescope, (COMPTEL).
The distance to this object is controversial, but some scientists argue that the supernova remnant is only 650-700 light years away, and exploded comparatively recently (as seen from earth), perhaps within the last 800 years.
If the remnant is indeed young and nearby, its corresponding supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
should have been visible from the Earth in about the year 1250. One difficulty with this interpretation is that there are no contemporary written reports of any supernova at that time or in that part of the sky.
The central compact object (CCO) was discovered in 2001. In the initial Chandra X-ray image and deeper images thereafter, no pulsations were detected from the compact remnant which is believed to be a neutron star.