(ORDO NEWS) — Using the AstroSat satellite, astronomers from the University of Calgary have identified 20 supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Andromeda galaxy that exhibit scattered ultraviolet radiation.
A team of astronomers led by Denis Leahy set out to search for ultraviolet SNRs in the nearby Andromeda galaxy (also known as Messier 31 or M31) with the goal of creating the first catalog of such objects in another galaxy. For this, scientists used the AstroSat UVIT telescope.
“The ultraviolet images of M31 were obtained by the UVIT telescope on the AstroSat satellite, and the SNR list was obtained from the X-ray, optical and radio SNR catalogs in M31.
We used UVIT images to find diffuse SNRs, omitting those that are too polluted by stellar radiation,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
Initially, the team selected 177 SNRs to see if they exhibited scattered ultraviolet radiation or not. 20 supernova remnants turned out to be ultraviolet emitters.
The identified sources exhibit diffuse radiation that is not associated with stars, although the strength of the diffuse radiation varies.
Astronomers have found similar spectral shapes for SNRs in the Andromeda Galaxy and known SNRs in the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Small Magellanic Cloud.
The scientists hypothesize that the SNR ultraviolet emission reported in the paper is dominated by linear emission and is associated with supernova remnants.
The authors of the study propose spectroscopic observations to confirm the linear nature of the ultraviolet emission of the newly identified SNRs.
However, astronomers have noted that it will be difficult to conduct spectroscopy for densely populated regions in the Andromeda Galaxy where these SNRs are located.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.