Crab Nebula, composite image
Crab Nebula, composite image. Combined X-ray (blue and white), optical (purple) and infrared (pink) image of the Crab Nebula (M1, NGC 1952), a supernova remnant that is 12 light years across and around 6500 light years distant in the constellation of Taurus. At its centre is a quickly spinning, highly magnetized neutron star called a pulsar (bright spot, centre), which was formed when a massive star ran out of its nuclear fuel and collapsed. The combination of rapid rotation and a strong magnetic field generates an intense electromagnetic field that creates jets of matter and anti-matter moving away from the poles of the pulsar, and an intense wind flowing out in the equatorial direction. The X-ray data is from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO). The optical data is from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The infrared data is from the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST). Image published in 2017.
Size: 5194px × 3374px
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Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, -ray, 1, 1952, 2017, astronomic, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, c040/2680, c0402680, chandra, collapsed, crab, cxo, energy, evolution, glow, glowing, high, hst, hubble, infrared, ir, jets, m1, messier, nebula, nebulae, neutron, ngc, ngc1952, observatory, optical, powerful, pulsar, radiography, ray, relativistic, remnant, snr, space, spitzer, sst, star, stellar, supernova, taurus, telescope, universe, visible, xray,
