Fingers, Loops, and Bays in the Crab Nebula

Chandra_408_1024

chandra_408 November 5th, 2008

Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Seward et al

In the Crab Nebula, a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar (white dot near the center),

powers the dramatic activity seen by Chandra. The inner X-ray ring is thought to be a

shock wave that marks the boundary between the surrounding nebula and the flow of

matter and antimatter particles from the pulsar. Energetic particles move outward to

brighten the outer ring and produce an extended X-ray glow. The jets perpendicular to

the ring are due to matter and antimatter particles spewing out from the poles of the

pulsar. The fingers, loops and bays visible on the outer boundary of the nebula are

likely caused by confinement of the high-energy particles by magnetic forces.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2008/crab/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Crab Nebula
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Neutron Star > Pulsar
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Neutron Star
Nebula > Type > Jet

Distance

Universescale1
6,000 light years
Chandra_408_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 34m 32.3s
DEC = 22° 0’ 47.5”
Orientation
North is 1.5° CCW
Field of View
5.0 x 5.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Taurus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Grayscale Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 990.0 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Grayscale
Chandra_408_1280
×
ID
408
Subject Category
B.3.1.9.1   B.3.1.9   B.4.1.5  
Subject Name
Crab Nebula
Credits
NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Seward et al
Release Date
2008-11-05
Lightyears
6,000
Redshift
6,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2008/crab/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra
Instrument
ACIS
Color Assignment
Grayscale
Band
X-ray
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
0.99
Start Time
2004-01-27
Integration Time
41400, 3.1000000000000E+00
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
83.63460042612, 22.01318897321
Reference Dimension
3300.00, 3300.00
Reference Pixel
1625.92183674598, 1502.16933669872
Scale
-0.00002502276, 0.00002502276
Rotation
1.46884211552
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
World Coordinate System resolved using PinpointWCS 0.9.0 revision 213+ by the Chandra X-ray Center
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
crab.tif
Metadata Date
2012-04-03
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
6,000 light years

Providers | Sign In