A NASA X-ray telescope has captured an image of an astronomical object that looks like a giant powerful hand in space that sends forth a bolt of colorful energy, but whether or not it proves the existence of a divine being, the photo dubbed the "The Hand of God" is something worth looking at.
The image, taken by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, shows the energized remains of a dead star and was nicknamed the "Hand of God" because of its resemblance to a hand. It is actually one of two new views from NuSTAR that showcases the telescope's ability to spy objects near and far. The other image shows distant black holes buried in blankets of dust.
NuSTAR is a Small Explorer mission led by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spacecraft was launched into space in June 2012 on a mission to gather information about the universe. It observes black holes, dead and exploded stars and other extreme objects in the Milky Way and beyond.
"NuSTAR's unique viewpoint, in seeing the highest-energy X-rays, is showing us well-studied objects and regions in a whole new light," said Fiona Harrison, the mission's principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
The "Hand of God" image depicts a nebula 17,000 light-years away that is powered by a dead spinning star, or a pulsar, called PSR B1509-58. The pulsar is only about 19 kilometers in diameter but spins around nearly seven times per second ejecting particles into material that was upheaved during the star's death. These particles interact with magnetic fields around the ejected material which causes it to glow with X-rays. The result is a cloud that looks like an open hand in the image.
Scientists, however, aren't sure whether the ejected materials assume the shape of a hand or its interaction with the pulsar's particles make it appear that way. "We don't know if the hand shape is an optical illusion," said Hongjun An of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. "With NuSTAR, the hand looks more like a fist, which is giving us some clues." Either way, the photo reveals that the Universe holds many secrets, secrets that will be revealed in good time.
