The galaxy cluster and supernova remnants captured by Japan’s latest satellite ‘XRISM’ have been revealed. Supernova remnants inside the galaxy were recently confirmed in observation data from the James Webb Space Telescope, attracting the attention of space enthusiasts.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) introduced the first observation results of ‘Chrysm’ to the public through its official channel on the 5th. ‘Chrism’ is an X-ray observation satellite developed by JAXA and was launched in September last year along with ‘SLIM’, which is scheduled to land on the moon on the 20th of this month.
The first observation target of ‘Chrysm’ is ‘Abell 2319’, which belongs to the Abell galaxy cluster. The Abel Galaxy Cluster, located about 770 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, is believed to be two galaxy clusters colliding and interacting.
Abel 2319 galaxy cluster captured by Chrysm. It compares the observation ranges of Chrysm, the Chandra X-ray Space Telescope, the Japanese Suzaku X-ray Satellite, and the Asuka Satellite. <사진=JAXA 공식 홈페이지>
The released image is the result of overlaying the visible light observation data of ‘Crysm’ for ‘Abel 2319’ with the image of ‘Xtend’, an X-ray imaging equipment mounted on the satellite. The distribution of high-temperature plasma that emits X-rays is clearly visible in the photo.
JAXA said, “‘Chrysm’ can observe a large area of outer space at once,” and added, “NASA’s ‘Chandra X-ray Space Telescope’, Japan’s ‘Suzaku’ “Unlike older equipment such as ASCA satellites, we capture the entire galaxy cluster with just one observation,” he explained.
Supernova remnant N132D (left) inside the Large Magellanic Cloud and its enlarged view <사진=JAXA 공식 홈페이지>
“Generally, to look into situations where galaxy clusters collide with each other, extensive observations are needed from the center of the galaxy cluster to the outside,” he said. “Understanding the collisions of galaxy clusters in more detail will provide more information about the massive structure of the universe and its evolution.” “I expected it.”
‘Crysm’ also revealed the spectrum of the supernova remnant ‘N132D’ obtained using ‘Resolve’, an X-ray spectroscopy equipment mounted on the fuselage. ‘N132D’ is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the companion galaxies (satellite galaxies) of our Milky Way, and is about 160,000 light-years away from Earth.
Spectrum of supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud obtained with Chrysm’s Resolve instrument. <사진=JAXA 공식 홈페이지>
JAXA said, “In the spectrum of a celestial body captured with spectroscopic equipment, there are dark absorption lines that occur when atoms or molecules absorb electromagnetic waves of a specific wavelength and bright lines that occur when they emit electromagnetic waves of a specific wavelength.” “Through these spectral observations, we can see the celestial body’s “You can learn the composition and even figure out the speed of movement in the direction of your gaze,” he said.
The ‘Chrysm’ satellite is the latest model that replaces Japan’s X-ray astronomy satellite ‘Hitomi’, which was launched in 2016. NASA as well as the European Space Agency (ESA) participated in the development, and plan to intensively study plasma distributed in interstellar space and intergalactic space in the future.
Reporter Jeong Ian anglee@sputnik.kr
