Posted on 12/01/2005 9:20:51 PM PST by NormsRevenge
The Hubble Space Telescope has caught the most detailed view of the Crab Nebula, revealing the intricate epitaph of a long-dead star.
The nebula spans a patch of space six light-years across and has proved an attractive target for professional and amateur astronomers alike. One light-year is the distance light travels in one year, about 5.8 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).
Wispy filaments, primarily of hydrogen, weave through the Crab Nebula, at the center of which sits a neutron star that spins 30 times per second.
The only fixed remains of the supernova explosion - the rest of the original star stuff has blown outward - the neutron star acts as a beacon, spitting twin beams of radiation from its poles as it rotates.
The dense, city-sized object powers the Crab Nebula's bluish glow, which is generated by electrons that follow the neutron star's magnetic field lines, astronomers said. The elemental composition of the nebula can be picked apart by color, with blue areas indicating neutral oxygen, green regions showing singly ionized sulfur and red portions denoting doubly ionized oxygen, they added.
This image superimposes one of the largest ever produced by Hubble - and the highest resolution view ever of the nebula - over observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. Astronomers used Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 to build the image.
WOW!
That is really incredible! As I understand it, it takes months to put these images together because the telescope only takes picutres of tiny little pieces at a time, and someone has to put them all together!
Truly beautiful and remarkable picture. Thanks, NR.
"The heavens declare the glory of God."
6 shots of tequila and my eyes look just like this. :-)
Gorgeous image, but that sure is one messed up star!
Good gravy! Think of the abundance of valuable elements contained within that expanse of debris. Our Earth would be but a speck within it.
M1 sure does NOT look like that in my telescope :( but thanks great picture .... GO ARMY! BEAT NAVY!
You can go mine it, if the environazis haven't already had it declared off limits! ;-)
Amen.
Beautiful and fascinating picture!
Either way, that's a spectacular photograph. NASA needs to keep Hubble in operation.
BUMP
Awesome. But where in the pic is this neutron star they are talking about?
I saw that remark too, not sure.
The NS would be about the size of a pinprick relatively (no pun intended) speaking.
L
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