The Crab Nebula is one of the best-known supernova remnants and has been photographed many thousands of times by (amateur) astronomers and space telescopes. Now the James Webb Telescope has taken a look at the nebula and the results are amazing.
In the year 1054, Chinese astronomers saw a star explode. The star was visible to the naked eye for 23 days. The result is located 6,500 light years away: the Crab Nebula. The supernova remnant is now eleven light-years wide and can be found with a telescope in the constellation Taurus.
The photo was taken with Webbs NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). Thanks to this infrared photo, astronomers now know even better how gas and dust are distributed in the first Messier object.
Compact superbollen
At the heart of the Crab Nebula, a neutron star – or pulsar – rotates on its axis thirty times every second. This pulsar has a radius of about ten kilometers, making it smaller than a medium-sized city. Yet this pulsar is more massive than the Sun. Neutron stars are extremely compact and also ‘perfect’ spheres. Did you know that mountains on neutron stars are less than a millimeter high?
Synchrotron radiation in the picture
Just like in the Hubble photo wavy red-orange filaments and gas knots are visible around the center of the nebula. If you zoom in closely, you will see that the central region of the Crab Nebula in particular is ‘foggier’ than in the Hubble photo. This is due to synchrotron radiation. The pulsar at the heart of the Crab Nebula is a huge energy source that produces synchotron radiation. Scientists can use the erratic patterns to determine the strength, shape and location of magnetic fields.
Below, see the differences between the twenty-year-old Hubble photo and the most recent photo taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Find the pulsar
Do you want to see the neutron star with your own eyes? The pulsar is clearly visible in the center of the Crab Nebula. Follow the circling strings in the heart and you will automatically arrive at a bright white star.
James Webb continues to amaze us
The James Webb Space Telescope has now been active for a year and a half. In this short period, dozens of beautiful photos have already been shared: from dusty nurseries full of protostars to gigantic galaxies with supermassive black holes and from ice worlds in our solar system to rare Wolf-Rayet stars. Curious about the most beautiful photos? This summer, visitors to Scientias.nl chose the ten most beautiful James Webb photos. The winner: this terrifying photo of the Eagle Nebula. Traditionally, the space photo of the year will be chosen at the end of this year and then there is a good chance that we will see the Crab Nebula again.
2023-10-31 09:39:06
#Crab #Nebula #shines #James #Webb #zooms #thousandyearold #supernova #remnant
