This composite image was made by combining X-ray observations from XMM-Newton (purple) and Chandra (green) with infrared data from the 2MASS project and optical data from the DSS (red, green blue).
The extended emission seen by XMM-Newton corresponds to the supernova remnant known as SNR MSH 11-61A and it is made by debris left behind when a massive star exploded as a supernova. The surrounding gas gets heated to millions degrees Kelvin by the shocks waves produced by the supernova explosion and the remnant becomes X-ray bright.
The point-like X-ray source in the south-east corner of the image was discovered by Integral, and is called IGR J11014-6103. When observed by XMM-Newton and Chandra, this source was decomposed in a point-like source with a long tail trailing behind it for about 3 light years (seen by Chandra as the green comet shape in this image).
The favoured interpretation is that of a pulsar wind nebula: the pulsar ejected by the supernova blast is rotating at high speed and the trail is produced by a “wind” of high-energy particles that has been swept behind a bow shock created by the pulsar’s high speed.
The bright star nearby and also the one in SNR MSH11-16A are both likely to be foreground stars unrelated to the supernova remnant.
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