This highly detailed image of the Crab Nebula was assembled by combining data from five telescopes spanning nearly the entire breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum: The Very Large Array (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 Hubble visible-light image offers a very sharp view of hot filamentary structures that permeate this nebula. The infrared image includes the glow of dust particles absorbing ultraviolet and visible light, and re-radiating at lower energies (longer wavelengths) in the infrared. An energetic cloud of electrons driven by a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, at its core glows brightly in ultraviolet radiation and X-rays. The neutron star’s fierce "wind" of charged particles energized the nebula, causing it to emit the radio waves. In this color scheme used for this set of images the background stars appear blue because they have the strongest signal in the ultraviolet-light exposure.
The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova explosion seen by Chinese and other astronomers in the year 1054, is 6,500 light-years from Earth.
Credits
NASA, ESA, G. Dubner (IAFE, CONICET-University of Buenos Aires) et al.; A. Loll et al.; T. Temim et al.; F. Seward et al.; VLA/NRAO/AUI/NSF; Chandra/CXC; Spitzer/JPL-Caltech; XMM-Newton/ESA; and Hubble/STScI| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Crab Nebula, M1, NGC 1952 |
| Object Description | Supernova remnant |
| R.A. Position | 05h 34m 31.94s |
| Dec. Position | +22° 00' 52.2" |
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Distance | 6,500 light-years (2,000 parsecs) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | Red: VLA Radio Yellow: SST Infrared Green: HST Optical Blue: XMM Ultraviolet Purple: CXO X-ray |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
