NASA's picture of the day, September 3: Africa nebula shines bright, revealing powerful star jet mysteries

Cir X-1: Jets in the Africa Nebula (Image: NASA/ J. English (U. Manitoba) & K. Gasealahwe/SARAO/MeerKAT)

Imagine looking deep into the sky and seeing a cosmic bubble shaped by forces we are only starting to understand. Astronomers studying the Africa Nebula believe it holds answers about how quickly jets form when a supernova gives birth to a neutron star.

What exactly is the Africa Nebula?

The Africa Nebula is a supernova remnant linked to Circinus X-1, an X-ray-emitting neutron star. It also surrounds the companion star that Cir X-1 orbits.

New images from the ThunderKAT project, using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, show a bright core-and-lobe structure. These features reveal the currently active jets flowing from Cir X-1.

How old is Circinus X-1?

Astronomers estimate Cir X-1 to be just 4,600 years old. They even call it a “Little Sister” of microquasar SS 433 because of its similar activity.

Yes, clues suggest earlier jets existed long before the ones we see today. A bubble exiting from a ring-like hole at the top right of the nebula, along with another ring at the bottom left, reveals evidence of past jet activity.

When did these first jets form?

Computer models suggest the initial jets appeared within 100 years of the star’s explosion. They likely lasted as long as 1,000 years before fading.

To shape the bubble now visible, those ancient jets must have been far more powerful than scientists once believed young neutron stars could produce. This contradicts current theories of jet formation.

The results indicate neutron stars can start molding their environments very shortly after a supernova. The discovery informs astronomers how stellar explosions shape space over thousands of years more accurately.