flamingfist1.jpg

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescopic Array (NuSTAR) captured an image that "shows the energized remains of a dead star, a structure nicknamed the Hand of God after its resemblance to a hand." That hand however looks more like a flaming fist now though.

Scientists don't know if the hand shape is an optical illusion. With NuSTAR, the hand looks more like a fist, which is giving [them] some clues." I can see the fist in flames too, surrounding the knuckles.

This is what astronomers think is actually happening:
The image shows a nebula 17,000 light-years away, powered by a dead, spinning star called PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short. The dead star, called a pulsar, is the leftover core of a star that exploded in a supernova. The pulsar is only about 19 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter but packs a big punch: it is spinning around nearly seven times every second, spewing particles into material that was upheaved during the star's violent death. These particles are interacting with magnetic fields around the ejected material, causing it to glow with X-rays. The result is a cloud that, in previous images, looked like an open hand.