2024 July 23

The Crab Nebula from Visible to X-Ray
* Image Credit: NASA, ESA, ASI, Hubble, Chandra, IXPE
https://www.nasa.gov/
https://www.esa.int/
https://www.asi.it/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/chandra-x-ray-observatory/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/imaging-x-ray-polarimetry-explorer-ixpe/

Explanation:
What powers the Crab Nebula? A city-sized magnetized neutron star spinning around 30 times a second. Known as the Crab Pulsar, it is the bright spot in the center of the gaseous swirl at the nebula's core. About 10 light-years across, the spectacular picture of the Crab Nebula (M1) frames a swirling central disk and complex filaments of surrounding and expanding glowing gas. The picture combines visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope in red and blue with X-ray light from the Chandra X-ray Observatory shown in white, and diffuse X-ray emission detected by Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in diffuse purple. The central pulsar powers the Crab Nebula's emission and expansion by slightly slowing its spin rate, which drives out a wind of energetic electrons. The featured image released today, the 25th Anniversary of the launch of NASA's flagship-class X-ray Observatory: Chandra.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240723.html

#space #nebula #pulsar #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #physics #matter #antimatter #nature #NASA #ESA #ASI