NASA spots 'Hand of God' in deep space
Not the actual limb of our creator, but an astronomical phenomenon which appears to show a vast hand in the distant universe.
First spotted last year, the Hand of God was caused when a star underwent a huge explosion, resulting in an enormous cloud of material being ejected from the source.
Oddly enough, the material, as taken by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), took the formation of what looks like a large had, which scientists have dubbed the ‘Hand of God’.
Fiona Harrison, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said: "NuSTAR's unique viewpoint, in seeing the highest-energy X-rays, is showing us well-studied objects and regions in a whole new light.”
The Hand of God is a pulsar wind nebular
The Hand of God is a pulsar wind nebular catchily named PSR B1509-58.
The formation spins almost seven times a second, blowing particles into material left over by the exploding star.
The particles then interact with magnetic fields, creating the X-ray glow in the shape of a hand.
It was caused by an exploding star
The red cloud above the hand is separate to it and called RCW 89 – astronomers believe that the pulsar may be heating it, to cause it to glow that way.
However, it is unclear whether the hand is actually there or whether the particles and material are just interacting in such a way that it makes it appear as if it were there.
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Hongjun An, of McGill University in Montreal, said: "We don't know if the hand shape is an optical illusion.
"With NuSTAR, the hand looks more like a fist, which is giving us some clues."