* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: G306.3-0.9

Blobrana · L

G306.3-0.9: NASA's Swift, Chandra Explore a Youthful 'Star Wreck'

While performing an extensive X-ray survey of our galaxy's central regions, NASA's Swift satellite has uncovered the previously unknown remains of a shattered star. Designated G306.3-0.9 after the coordinates of its sky position, the new object ranks among the youngest-known supernova remnants in our Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomers have previously catalogued more than 300 supernova remnants in the Galaxy. The new analysis indicates that G306.3-0.9 is likely less than 2,500 years old, making it one of the 20 youngest remnants identified.
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Blobrana · L

Title: G306.3-0.9: A newly discovered young galactic supernova remnant
Authors: Mark Reynolds, Shyeh Loi, Tara Murphy, Jon Miller, Dipankar Maitra, Kayhan Gultekin, Neil Gehrels, Jamie Kennea, Michael Siegel, Jonathan Gelbord, Paul Kuin, Vanessa Moss, Sarah Reeves, William Robbins, Bryan Gaensler, Rubens Reis, Robert Petre

We present X-ray and radio observations of the new Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G306.3-0.9, recently discovered by Swift. Chandra imaging reveals a complex morphology, dominated by a bright shock. The X-ray spectrum is broadly consistent with a young SNR in the Sedov phase, implying an age of 2500 yr for a distance of 8 kpc, plausibly identifying this as one of the 20 youngest Galactic SNRs. Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) imaging reveals a prominent ridge of radio emission that correlates with the X-ray emission. We find a flux density of ~ 160 mJy at 1 GHz, which is the lowest radio flux recorded for a Galactic SNR to date. The remnant is also detected at 24microns, indicating the presence of irradiated warm dust. The data reveal no compelling evidence for the presence of a compact stellar remnant.