(PCM) The NASA NuSTAR telescope has captured a pretty amazing image of what appears to be the “Hand Of God”. The image was the result of a star exploding and ejecting a gigantic cloud of material which NASA’s NuSTAR telescope was able to capture in high-energy X-rays, shown in blue in the photo. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory had imaged the green and red parts previously, using lower-energy X-rays.
What the picture truly shows is a pulsar wind nebula, produced by the dense remnant of a star that exploded in a supernova. What’s left behind is a pulsar, called PSR B1509-58 (B1509 for short), which spins around 7 times per second blowing a wind of particles into material ejected during the star’s death throes. As these particles interact with nearby magnetic fields, they produce an X-ray glow in the shape of a hand. NASA claims the Pulsar can not been seen in the image, but is near the bright white spot.
The Hand of God is an example of pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon of perceiving familiar shapes in random or vague images. Despite its supernatural appearance, the Hand of God was produced by natural phenomena.
Can’t say that I really follow all of the scientific jargon, but it definitely looks amazing!
