Within 24 hours of reaching the first stage of Australia’s latest supercomputing system, researchers processed radio telescope observations, including a highly detailed image of a supernova remnant.
The very high data rates and huge data volumes of new generation radio telescopes such as ASKAP require highly capable software running on supercomputers.
And that’s where the Pawsey Center for Supercomputing Research comes into play, with a newly launched supercomputer called Setonix — after Western Australia’s favorite animal, the quokka (Setonix brachyurus).
ASKAP, which consists of 36 antenna plates working together as a single telescope, is powered by the Australian National Science Agency (CSIRO), and the observation data it collects is transmitted via high-speed optical fibers to the Bawsey Center for processing and conversion into science-ready images.
The exciting result is an impressive image of a cosmic object known as the supernova remnant, G261.9 + 5.5. It is estimated to be over a million years old and located 10,000-15,000 light-years away from us. This object in the Milky Way was first classified as a supernova remnant by CSIRO radio astronomer Eric R. Hill in 1967, using observations from CSIRO’s Parkes Radio Telescope, Moriyang.
The material ejected from the explosion seeps outward into the surrounding interstellar medium at supersonic speeds, sweeping away gas and any material it encounters along the way, compressing and heating it in the process. In addition, the shock wave will also compress the interstellar magnetic fields. The emissions we see in the G261.9 + 5.5 radio image come from high-energy electrons trapped in these compressed fields. It carries information about the history of the exploding star and aspects of the surrounding interstellar medium.