NGC 1952/Crab Nebula
Credit
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/JPL/Caltech;
Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA; Ultraviolet: ESA/XMM-Newton
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Astronomers have produced a highly detailed image of the Crab Nebula, by combining data from telescopes spanning nearly the entire breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves seen by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to the powerful X-ray glow as seen by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory. And, in between, the Hubble Space Telescope's crisp visible-light view and the infrared perspective of the Spitzer Space Telescope.
The Crab Nebula, the result of a bright supernova explosion seen by Chinese and other astronomers in the year 1054, is 6,500 light-years from Earth. At its center is a super-dense neutron star,
rotating once every 33 milliseconds, shooting out rotating
lighthouse-like beams from radio waves to gamma-ray wavelengths — a
pulsar. The nebula's intricate shape is caused by a complex interplay of
the pulsar,
a fast-moving wind of particles coming from the pulsar, and material
originally ejected by the supernova explosion and by the star itself
before the explosion.
This image combines data from five different telescopes: The VLA
(radio) in red; Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared) in yellow; Hubble
Space Telescope (visible) in green; XMM-Newton (ultraviolet) in blue;
and Chandra X-ray Observatory (X-ray) in purple.
The new VLA, Hubble, and Chandra observations were largely made at
about the same time in November 2012. Chandra has been observing the
Crab Nebula since shortly after the telescope was launched into space in
1999 and has repeatedly done so in the years since. X-ray data reveal
the distribution and behavior of the high-energy particles being spewed
from the pulsar at the center of the Crab, which provides important
clues to the workings of this mighty cosmic generator producing energy
at the rate of 1,000 suns.
A paper describing the latest multi-wavelength work on the Crab, led
by Gloria Dubner (IAFE), appears in The Astrophysical Journal and is available online.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the
Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
controls Chandra's science and flight operations.
Fast Facts for Crab Nebula:
Scale: Image is about 5 arcmin across (10 light years)
Category: Supernovas & Supernova Remnants, Neutron Stars/X-ray Binaries
Coordinates (J2000): RA 05h 34m 32s | Dec +22° 0.0' 52.00"
Constellation: Taurus
Observation Date: 48 pointings between March 2000 and Nov 2013
Observation Time: 25 hours 28 min. (1 day 1 hour 28 min)
Obs. ID: 769-773, 1994-2001, 4607, 13139, 13146, 13147, 13150-13154, 13204-13210, 13750-13752, 13754-13757, 14416, 14458, 14678-14682, 14685, 16245, 16257, 16357, 16358
Instrument: ACISAlso Known As: NGC 1952
References: Dubner, G. et al., 2017, ApJ [in print]; arXiv: 1704.02968
Color Code: X-ray (Purple), Ultraviolet (Blue), Optical (Green), Infrared (Yellow-Green), Radio (Red)
Distance Estimate: About 6,500 light years
Source: NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory
