Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is the remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova around 1680, the youngest in the Milky Way at about 350 years old. Located 11,000 light-years away in Cassiopeia, it's ideal for X-ray studies, as shock waves heat gas to millions of degrees, emitting X-rays from electrons spiraling in magnetic fields.The image from NASA's IXPE, released in early 2022, measures X-ray polarization to map magnetic fields. Magenta shows IXPE's intensity data, with blue overlays from Chandra highlighting high-energy areas. It resembles a glowing, irregular plasma sphere with filamentary streaks, showing how shocks tangle fields and accelerate cosmic rays.IXPE reveals low polarization (5% average), indicating turbulent fields near shocks, but radial alignment at fronts aids particle acceleration. Levels drop in dense regions, marking chaos from ejecta interactions—this first polarimetry map offers cosmic ray insights.Recent 2025 Chandra studies show the progenitor star's core mixed violently hours before explosion, causing asymmetries, Cas A's lopsided shape, and its neutron star's 1-million-mph kick. These complement IXPE views on pre-explosion effects.
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