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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Swirling Core of the Crab Nebula
NASA ^
| Friday, July 08, 2016
| (see photo credit)
Posted on 07/07/2016 10:04:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: At the core of the Crab Nebula lies a city-sized, magnetized neutron star spinning 30 times a second. Known as the Crab Pulsar, it's actually the rightmost of two bright stars, just below a central swirl in this stunning Hubble snapshot of the nebula's core. Some three light-years across, the spectacular picture frames the glowing gas, cavities and swirling filaments bathed in an eerie blue light. The blue glow is visible radiation given off by electrons spiraling in a strong magnetic field at nearly the speed of light. Like a cosmic dynamo the pulsar powers the emission from the nebula, driving a shock wave through surrounding material and accelerating the spiraling electrons. With more mass than the Sun and the density of an atomic nucleus, the spinning pulsar is the collapsed core of a massive star that exploded. The Crab Nebula is the expanding remnant of the star's outer layers. The supernova explosion was witnessed on planet Earth in the year 1054.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; crabnebula; crabpulsar; nebula; neutronstar; science
[Credit: NASA, ESA; Acknowledgment: J. Hester (ASU), M. Weisskopf (NASA / GSFC)]
1
posted on
07/07/2016 10:04:25 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; disndat; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; dayglored; ...
2
posted on
07/07/2016 10:06:07 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(I'll tell you what's wrong with society -- no one drinks from the skulls of their enemies anymore.)
To: SunkenCiv
To: Larry Lucido
It's mislabeled. That is clearly not the Crab Nebula, but rather, NGC2525, known colloquially to astronomers as "The Angry Woody Woodpecker Nebula." Note the resemblance (anger not shown):
4
posted on
07/07/2016 11:18:02 PM PDT
by
FredZarguna
(And what Rough Beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Fifth Avenue to be born?)
To: SunkenCiv
5
posted on
07/08/2016 6:48:08 AM PDT
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: SunkenCiv
Thanks!! That Big One goes into my Screensaver folder!
I've seen dozens of views of the Crab nebula -- but this is the first I recall showing the visible shockwaves.
Cool stuff!!
6
posted on
07/08/2016 8:50:03 AM PDT
by
TXnMA
("Allah": Satan's current alias; "Barack": Allah's current ally...)
To: TXnMA
:') That was such a close-up, it triggered my shellfish allergy! ;')
7
posted on
07/08/2016 9:14:38 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(I'll tell you what's wrong with society -- no one drinks from the skulls of their enemies anymore.)
To: FredZarguna
It actually looks like the head of an angry ostrich (eye at right, beak at left).
To: FredZarguna
To: Larry Lucido
Yeah, that's why I said it. I don't see anything even remotely resembling anything like a crab there.
But it is pretty far away, so, you have to squint... I guess:
10
posted on
07/08/2016 9:35:43 AM PDT
by
FredZarguna
(And what Rough Beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Fifth Avenue to be born?)
To: SunkenCiv
11
posted on
07/08/2016 9:53:09 AM PDT
by
TXnMA
("Allah": Satan's current alias; "Barack": Allah's current ally...)
To: FredZarguna
Those 3-D paintings are fascinating. Hey, where’s my shirt?
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