This image of supernova remnant SN 1006 combines data from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) and Chandraxray. The red, green and blue elements reflect low, medium and high energy X-rays. The IXPE data, which measure the polarisation of X-ray light, are shown in purple in the upper left corner with the addition of lines representing the outward movement of the magnetic field of the relic.

The results show a link between magnetic fields and the high-energy particle output of the remnants, the researchers say. More detailed and accurate mapping of these magnetic field structures of supernova remnants at higher energies allows us to better understand the processes that accelerate these particles.

SN 1006 is about 6,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lupus. It is the remnants of a massive explosion, thought to be the brightest stellar event in recorded history, caused either by the merger of two white dwarfs or by a white dwarf pulling too much mass from a companion star.

Image description: The debris from an exploding star resembles a red fireball churning against a softer stellar background. The supernova remnant appears to be surrounded by a blue and white ring, most prominent in the lower right and upper left. This structure is markedly different from other round supernova remnants. In the upper left corner, a labelled section of SN 1006 is highlighted in a blue circle. Within this circle, only the outer ring of the supernova remnant is shown, not the speckled red stellar material churning inside. This ring is part of the expanding blast wave of the supernova observed in X-ray light by both Chandra and IXPE. The magnetic field lines are shown as spiky white lines in the circle, pointing mostly upwards and to the left. The background of the stars was captured in infrared light by the Spitzer Space Telescope.