Cosmic Fireworks
Even the most spectacular Fourth of July fireworks display pales in comparison to what takes place in nature.
In a matter of seconds, a supernova releases more energy than the Sun radiates in its 10 billion-year life span, and the explosive event can briefly outshine its host galaxy. Neutron stars, the remnants of such “cosmic fireworks,” exhibit the strongest magnetic fields observed in the universe.
Calculations performed to create this visualization were made on Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Jaguar XT5, the world's fastest computer for unclassified research. This image sequence is taken from a magneto-hydrodynamic simulation performed with ORNL's astrophysical simulation code GenASiS. The visualization illustrates the growth of the stellar core magnetic field under conditions similar to those encountered moments before the star is disrupted in a supernova explosion.
Click this link below for a high resolution video: http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/video/media_advisories/supernova_v1.mov
Click this link for high resolution still images: http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/images/media_advisories/magfield_composite.png
Credits: ORNL’s Eirik Endeve, Christian Cardall, Reuben Budiardja and Anthony Mezzacappa.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.ornl.govAll latest news from the category: Physics and Astronomy
This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.
innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.
Newest articles
Recovering phosphorus from sewage sludge ash
Chemical and heat treatment of sewage sludge can recover phosphorus in a process that could help address the problem of diminishing supplies of phosphorus ores. Valuable supplies of phosphorus could…
Efficient, sustainable and cost-effective hybrid energy storage system for modern power grids
EU project HyFlow: Over three years of research, the consortium of the EU project HyFlow has successfully developed a highly efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective hybrid energy storage system (HESS) that…
After 25 years, researchers uncover genetic cause of rare neurological disease
Some families call it a trial of faith. Others just call it a curse. The progressive neurological disease known as spinocerebellar ataxia 4 (SCA4) is a rare condition, but its…
