APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

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APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

Post by APOD Robot » Sun Sep 09, 2018 4:05 am

Image M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble

Explanation: 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 featured image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, is presented 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.

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sunson

Re: APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

Post by sunson » Sun Sep 09, 2018 2:42 pm

I think a more appropriate name would be The Sponge Nebula.

zendae1

Re: APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

Post by zendae1 » Sun Sep 09, 2018 3:26 pm

Or the Turquoise Nebula. It's not a mess to me, it's beautiful. And our Solar System would be less than a dot within it. Amazing what comes out of a star.

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Re: APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

Post by dlw » Sun Sep 09, 2018 5:09 pm

Is it possible to indicate the location of the M1 pulsar within this image?

Also, it may be pure mental projection but I perceive several 'bow shock waves' near the center of the M1 debris.

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Re: APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

Post by Chris Peterson » Sun Sep 09, 2018 9:39 pm

dlw wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 5:09 pm Is it possible to indicate the location of the M1 pulsar within this image?
With the narrowband imaging, stars have most of their light eliminated. You can't easily see the pulsar in the image. But it's very close to the crosshairs I've added here.
_
CrabNebula_Hubble_Pulsar.jpg
CrabNebula_Hubble_Pulsar.jpg (56.54 KiB) Viewed 1647 times
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Re: APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

Post by neufer » Sun Sep 09, 2018 9:49 pm

Click to play embedded YouTube video.
dlw wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 5:09 pm
Is it possible to indicate the location of the M1 pulsar within this image?
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Re: APOD: M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble (2018 Sep 09)

Post by alter-ego » Mon Sep 10, 2018 2:37 am

Chris Peterson wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 9:39 pm
dlw wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 5:09 pm Is it possible to indicate the location of the M1 pulsar within this image?
With the narrowband imaging, stars have most of their light eliminated. You can't easily see the pulsar in the image. But it's very close to the crosshairs I've added here.
_
CrabNebula_Hubble_Pulsar.jpg
As you say, it is not easily seen, but I've pin-pointed the 16.5 magnitude pulsar.
For scaling reasons, I cropped the original image slightly.
Crab Pulsar Located.JPG
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