Posted on 05/11/2011 9:03:57 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
The Crab Nebula has shocked astronomers by emitting an unprecedented blast of gamma rays, the highest-energy light in the Universe.
The cause of the 12 April gamma-ray flare, described at the Third Fermi Symposium in Rome, is a total mystery.
It seems to have come from a small area of the famous nebula, which is the wreckage from an exploded star.
The object has long been considered a steady source of light, but the Fermi telescope hints at greater activity.
The gamma-ray emission lasted for some six days, hitting levels 30 times higher than normal and varying at times from hour to hour.
While the sky abounds with light across all parts of the spectrum, Nasa's Fermi space observatory is designed to measure only the most energetic light: gamma rays.
These emanate from the Universe's most extreme environments and violent processes.
The Crab Nebula is composed mainly of the remnant of a supernova, which was seen on Earth to rip itself apart in the year 1054.
At the heart of the brilliantly coloured gas cloud we can see in visible light, there is a pulsar - a rapidly spinning neutron star that emits radio waves which sweep past the Earth 30 times per second. But so far none of the nebula's known components can explain the signal Fermi sees, said Roger Blandford, director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, US.
"The origin of these high-energy gamma rays has to be some other source," he told BBC News.
"It takes about six years for light to cross the nebula, so it must be a very compact region in comparison to the size of the nebula that's producing these outbursts on the time scales of hours."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
NASA’s Fermi Spots ‘Superflares’ in the Crab Nebula
05.11.11
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/crab-flare.html
As opposed to the “Grouch” Nebula?
We are doomed!
more pics at and from NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA’s Fermi Spots ‘Superflares’ in the Crab Nebula
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010700/a010767/
In the early stages they emit enormous amounts of gamma rays in a very narrow beam. It just so happens this beam is pointed right at us.
Great opportunity for research.
E=MC2 remains true.
Crabs flaring? There must be an ointment for that.
Post-explosion gas cramps?
Love this. Amazing stuff.
Is that a Universal Talk Show from the "others" out there?
I love it too. The scope and size of stars, galaxies and the universe are amazing. When I was a little girl I used to get astronomy books at the library, and try to find the most extreme statistics. Betelgeuse was one of my favorites. It is humbling stuff.
You’re welcome. My advice is worth about what you pay for it. :)
If you want a good program for finding stars and planets,”My Stars” is a great star chart program. Costs about 20 bucks and can be found on the Internet at http://www.relativedata.com/mystars. I tried to make a link but for some reason it kept telling me it couldn’t go there. However, that is the correct URL and will get you there if you cut and paste. I use my copy to find where the planets and stars are before I take my little 6 inch reflector out in the yard. You can get a free version but it doesn’t show everything as the registered one does.
May 21st, my friend! Said so right on the side of the bus. Seen it myself!
I guess I can forget about all my bills then.. The side of the bus does it for me.
CRAB Nebula-DSS-20x150s-flats-darks-exp50min
I shot this image of the the Crab, M-1 Nebula not to long ago from my backyard.
M1 is the remnant of a star that exploded as a supernova which was observed in ancient times around 1054, by the Chinese.
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