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> M1, the Crab Nebula

M1, the Crab Nebula

author: J.Lodriguss/Novapix

reference: a-snv11-00503

Image Size 300 DPI: 23 * 15 cm

M1, the Crab Nebula, is a supernova remnant from a star that exploded in 1054 AD and was witnessed and described by Chinese astronomers as being six times brighter than Venus. The supernova, located in the constellation of Taurus and about 7,000 light years away from the Earth, shined with the light of 400 million suns, was visible in the daytime for almost a month, and remained visible in the evening sky for more than a year. Today, some 900 years later, we see the remains of the exploded star as a cloud of gaseous debris, illuminated by the remnants of the core of the original star, which is now a rapidly spinning neutron star called a pulsar. The colors in the nebula come from two different sources. The red filaments come from typical hydrogen emission such as in emission nebula like M8. The diffuse blue background has a continuous spectrum composed of synchrotron radiation which is emitted by high energy electrons in a powerful magnetic field.

Keywords for this photo:

1996 - ASTRONOMY - CRAB - EVOLUTION - M1 - NGC 1952 - STAR - SUPERNOVA - SUPERNOVA REMNANT - TAURUS -