M1: The Crab Nebula
Explanation:
The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object on
Charles
Messier's
famous 18th century list of things which are not comets.
In fact,
the Crab
is now known to be a
supernova
remnant,
debris from the death explosion of a massive star
witnessed
by astronomers in the year 1054.
This sharp image from the
James
Webb Space TelescopeБs
NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and
MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument)
explores the eerie glow and fragmented strands
of the still
expanding
cloud of interstellar debris
in infrared light.
One of the most exotic objects known to modern astronomers,
the Crab Pulsar,
a neutron star spinning 30 times a second,
is visible as a bright spot near
the nebula's center.
Like a cosmic dynamo,
this collapsed remnant of the stellar core
powers the Crab's emission across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Spanning about 12 light-years, the Crab Nebula is a mere
6,500 light-years away in the head-strong
constellation Taurus.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
