Crab Nebula, as Seen by Herschel and Hubble

Nhsc_nhsc2013-022a_1024

nhsc_nhsc2013-022a December 12th, 2013

Credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/MESS Key Programme Supernova Remnant Team; NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University)

This image shows a composite view of the Crab nebula, an iconic supernova remnant in our Milky Way galaxy, as viewed by the Herschel Space Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Herschel is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission with important NASA contributions, and Hubble is a NASA mission with important ESA contributions.

A wispy and filamentary cloud of gas and dust, the Crab nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that was observed by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054.

The image combines Hubble's view of the nebula at visible wavelengths, obtained using three different filters sensitive to the emission from oxygen and sulphur ions and is shown here in blue. Herschel's far-infrared image reveals the emission from dust in the nebula and is shown here in red.

While studying the dust content of the Crab nebula with Herschel, a team of astronomers have detected emission lines from argon hydride, a molecular ion containing the noble gas argon. This is the first detection of a noble-gas based compound in space.

The Herschel image is based on data taken with the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) instrument at a wavelength of 70 microns; the Hubble image is based on archival data from the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2).

Provider: Herschel Space Observatory

Image Source: https://www.herschel.caltech.edu/image/nhsc2013-022a

Curator: NASA Herschel Science Center, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/imagepolicy/

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Crab Nebula Messier 1
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Supernova Remnant
Nhsc_nhsc2013-022a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 34m 32.5s
DEC = 22° 0’ 54.9”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
6.4 x 6.4 arcminutes
Constellation
Taurus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Hubble (WFPC2) Optical (OII) 501.0 nm
Blue Hubble (WFPC2) Optical (OI) 558.0 nm
Blue Hubble (WFPC2) Optical (SII) 658.0 nm
Red Herschel (PACS) Optical 70.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Blue
Blue
Red
Nhsc_nhsc2013-022a_1280
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ID
nhsc2013-022a
Subject Category
B.4.1.4  
Subject Name
Crab Nebula, Messier 1
Credits
ESA/Herschel/PACS/MESS Key Programme Supernova Remnant Team; NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University)
Release Date
2013-12-12
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.herschel.caltech.edu/image/nhsc2013-022a
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble, Hubble, Hubble, Herschel
Instrument
WFPC2, WFPC2, WFPC2, PACS
Color Assignment
Blue, Blue, Blue, Red
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
OII, OI, SII
Central Wavelength
501, 558, 658, 70000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
83.6355343, 22.0152411
Reference Dimension
3864.0, 3864.0
Reference Pixel
1933.0, 1933.0
Scale
2.76551527063e-05, 2.76381692778e-05
Rotation
0
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
WCS info from NASA/Hubble
Creator (Curator)
NASA Herschel Science Center
URL
http://www.herschel.caltech.edu/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/imagepolicy/
Publisher
NASA Herschel Science Center
Publisher ID
nhsc
Resource ID
Metadata Date
2018-06-21T00:07:47Z
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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