Peering into the Heart of the Crab Nebula
Multiple observations made over several months with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured the spectacle of matter and antimatter propelled to near the speed of light by the Crab pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star the size of Manhattan.
In the year 1054 A.D., Chinese astronomers were startled by the appearance of a new star, so bright that it was visible in broad daylight for several weeks. Today, the Crab Nebula is visible at the site of that bright star.
Credit:
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo0015a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 1 June 2000, 07:00 |
| Size: | 980 x 1100 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Crab Nebula, Messier 1 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant |
| Distance: | 6500 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
547 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical Oiii |
502 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical H-alpha |
656 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical Nii |
658 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical Sii |
673 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
