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Object C

Visible light

Here is your object in visible light.

    Observations:

  • Is the object round, or is it stretched-out?
  • Does it look like wispy trails of smoke, or does it look like a large blob with a bright center?
  • Is it white, yellow, red or some combination?

X-ray light

Here’s your mystery object as seen in X-ray light. X-rays are high-energy light waves which indicate a lot of activity is going on:

Crab Xray

    Observations:

  • Do the X-rays come from a circular region that gets thinner at the edges?
  • Are there rings of X-rays surrounding a bright dot at the center?
  • Is there a “haze” of X-rays coming from all over the object, with one or more bright dots near the center?

Infrared light

And here’s your mystery object in infrared light. Infrared light carries heat, and tells us the temperature of different objects in space:

    Observations:

  • Does it look like an explosion?
  • Does it look like thick swirls of smoke?
  • Is it round and filled-in?
  • Is it round, but empty in the center?

Identify your object

Compare your observations to the answer key below and see if you can identify your mystery object:

Choose one: Elliptical galaxy Irregular galaxy Supernova remnant Pulsar
Visible light: shape Round blob Stretched-out blob Wispy Wispy rings
Visible light: color Yellow White Many colors
X-ray light: source of light Haze with bright dots near center Haze with bright dots near center Round region Rings around central dot
Infrared light: shape Thick swirls, like smoke Thick swirls, like smoke Round but empty explosion Round and filled-in explosion