Supernova Remnants (3) ...
Generally, X-rays are made in high speed collisions. Since supernova remnants
are produced by shock waves moving rapidly through the interstellar medium, it should not be
a surprise that they can be strong X-ray sources.
X-Ray Emission from Supernova Remnants
The image below left shows an overview of the entire
Cygnus Loop at X-ray wavelengths.
We see that the shock heating of the interstellar medium by the supernova
leads to a diffuse X-ray glow associated with this entire region of space.
Below right is a ROSAT X-ray image of the remnant of the supernova of 1572, also known as
Tycho's supernova, since it was observed by Tycho Brahe.
Much of the X-ray emission comes from
high speed electrons accelerated in the remnant.
