Centre of the Crab Nebula in Taurus

This image is an enlargement of a three colour composite of the well-known Crab Nebula (also known as "Messier 1"), as observed with the FORS2 instrument in imaging mode in the morning of November 10, 1999. It is the remnant of a supernova explosion at a distance of about 6,000 light-years, observed almost 1000 years ago, in the year 1054. It contains a neutron star near its centre that spins 30 times per second around its axis. In this picture, the green light is predominantly produced by hydrogen emission from material ejected by the star that exploded. The blue light is predominantly emitted by very high-energy ("relativistic") electrons that spiral in a large-scale magnetic field (so-called synchrotron emission). It is believed that these electrons are continuously accelerated and ejected by the rapidly spinning neutron star at the centre of the nebula and which is the remnant core of the exploded star.

Crédito:

ESO

Sobre la imagen

Identificador:eso9948g
Tipo:Observación
Fecha de publicación:17 de Noviembre de 1999
Noticias relacionadas:eso9948
Tamaño:817 x 810 px

Sobre el objeto

Nombre:Crab Nebula, M 1, Messier 1, NGC 1952, Taurus A
Tipo:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Neutron Star : Pulsar
Distancia:6000 años luz
Constellation:Taurus
Categoría:Nebulae

Formatos de imagen

Tamaño original
889,7 KB
JPEG grande
197,4 KB

Fondo de pantalla

1024x768
228,0 KB
1280x1024
330,0 KB
1600x1200
418,0 KB
1920x1200
452,0 KB
2048x1536
583,7 KB

Coordenadas

Position (RA):5 34 32.20
Position (Dec):22° 0' 27.79"
Field of view:2.74 x 2.71 arcminutes
Orientación:El norte está a 0.1° a la derecha de la vertical

Colores y filtros

BandaTelescopio
Óptico
B
Very Large Telescope
FORS2
Óptico
R
Very Large Telescope
FORS2
Óptico
SII
Very Large Telescope
FORS2