{"id":50851,"date":"2023-10-30T15:12:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T15:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e6041871-cf62-4711-8cae-96379665b694"},"modified":"2023-10-30T16:32:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T16:32:35","slug":"webb-telescope-captures-new-image-of-the-crab-nebula","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/webb-telescope-captures-new-image-of-the-crab-nebula\/","title":{"rendered":"Webb Telescope captures new image of the Crab Nebula"},"content":{"rendered":"

the famous supernova remnant is revealed in infrared. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 30 October 2023 at 15:12 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a brand new image of the famous Crab Nebula, the remnant of an exploded star.<\/p>

With Webb\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) have revealed new details in the Crab Nebula<\/a>, never seen before.<\/p>

In particular, Webb’s view of cosmic dust in the Crab Nebula could help astronomers learn more about how that dust is distributed across the remnant.<\/p>

See the latest James Webb Space Telescope images<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

A short history of the Crab Nebula<\/strong><\/h2>
Lord Rosse’s drawing of the Crab Nebula (M 1). Credit: UniversalImagesGroup \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Crab Nebula, also known as M1, is a supernova<\/a> remnant: all that remains of an exploded star.<\/p>

It’s located 6,500 lightyears away and can be found in the constellation Taurus<\/a>.<\/p>

The Crab Nebula appears in an astronomical record of 1054 by 11th century Chinese astronomers<\/a>.<\/p>

It was famously sketched by William Parsons, the Third Earl of Rosse, using the Great Leviathan Telescope at Birr Castle<\/a> in Ireland in 1884.<\/p>

This is the drawing that gave the nebula its ‘Crab’ moniker.<\/p>

The Crab Nebula continues to be a favoured object of amateur astronomers and astrophotographers, but is also of key interest to space scientists seeking to learn more about the processes that govern supernova remnants like this.<\/p>

Webb’s view of the Crab Nebula<\/strong><\/h2>
\"Webb
Credit:NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Temim (Princeton University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

James Webb Space Telescope’s view of the Crab Nebula reveals the remnant in greater detail than the previous Hubble Space Telescope image.<\/p>

In red and orange, we see a structure of gaseous filaments, while yellow-white and green represent emission from dust grains with the central regions of the Crab.<\/p>

Webb’s infrared<\/a> vision shows a process known as synchrotron radiation, which is emission from charged particles moving around magnetic field lines<\/a>.<\/p>

This radiation appears as an ethereal, smoky substance within the central structure of the nebula, and is caused by a pulsar<\/a> at the heart of the Crab.<\/p>

Pulsars are spinning neutron stars<\/a>, and this particular pulsar’s magnetic fields are accelerating particles to very high speeds.<\/p>

This causes them to emit radiation as they interact with magnetic field lines, which can be distinctly seen in Webb’s infrared view.<\/p>

\"A
A comparison showing the Hubble image of the Crab Nebula (left) vs that captured by Webb (right). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Temim (Princeton University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The stellar wind produced by the pulsar is pushing the shell of cosmic gas and dust that forms the Crab Nebula outwards into space.<\/p>

This is why the filaments appear to be longer towards the upper right side of the nebula, as this is the direction in which the pulsar is moving.<\/p>

Astronomers studying the Crab Nebula now have new data and images from which to uncover the secrets of this famous target.<\/p>

But, within the next year or so, they will also be able to utilise a new image of the Crab Nebula currently being captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.<\/p>

Watch this space\u2026<\/p>