September 20, 2005
Billions of years of cosmic evolution — the birth and death of stars, the slow coalescence of planets, the patient unfolding of life — all...
M1: The Crab Nebula from NOT
Birthday · September 20, 2005
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APOD published September 20, 2005. Credit: Walter Nowotny (U. Wien, Nordic Optical Telescope. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
This is the mess that is left when a star explodes. The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova seen in 1054 AD, is filled with mysterious filaments. The filaments are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The above image, taken by the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), is in three colors chosen for scientific interest. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In the nebula's very center lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town. The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.
Image credit: Walter Nowotny (U. Wien, Nordic Optical Telescope