Q&A: Supernova Remnants and Neutron Stars
Q:
While looking at several "colored" photos of Tycho's supernova, I noticed a red object, at the +-11:00 o'clock position.
Just wondering if this object has been observed, and/or classified?
A:
Thanks for your question. I don't know for sure if anything has been published about that red object, but I'm guessing that it's a
foreground or background star that's unrelated to the supernova remnant. It
doesn't appear to be a source of X-rays, so it's not likely to be a
background active galactic nucleus, a rapidly growing supermassive black
hole.
The object may correspond to one of the stars studied in a search for the
binary companion to the progenitor, but it definitely isn't the star
singled out as the possible companion. See a Nature paper by Pilar
Ruiz-Lapuente, Vol 431, 28 October, 2004, p1069.
An overview of the Chandra mission and goals, Chandra's namesake, top 10 facts.
Classroom activities, printable materials, interactive games & more.
Overview of X-ray Astronomy and X-ray sources: black holes to galaxy clusters.
All Chandra images released to the public listed by date & by category
Current Chandra press releases, status reports, interviews & biographies.
A collection of multimedia, illustrations & animations, a glossary, FAQ & more.
A collection of illustrations, animations and video.
Chandra discoveries in an audio/video format.
