Intricate Crab Nebula Poses for Hubble Close-Up

Alx · 12-01-2005, 02:46 PM

Hubble Space Telescope has caught the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER of the Crab Nebula, revealing the intricate epitaph of a long-dead star.

The nebula spans a patch of space six light-years across and has proved an attractive target for professional and amateur astronomers alike. One light-year is the distance light travels in one year, about 5.8 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).

Wispy filaments, primarily of hydrogen, weave through the Crab Nebula, at the center of which sits a - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER that spins 30 times per second.

The only fixed remains of the supernova explosion - the rest of the original star stuff has blown outward - the neutron star acts as a beacon, spitting twin beams of radiation from its poles as it rotates.

The dense, city-sized object powers the Crab Nebula's bluish glow, which is generated by electrons that follow the neutron star's magnetic field lines, astronomers said. The elemental composition of the nebula can be picked apart by color, with blue areas indicating neutral oxygen, green regions showing singly ionized sulfur and red portions denoting doubly ionized oxygen, they added.

This image superimposes one of the largest ever produced by - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER - and the highest resolution view ever of the nebula - over observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. Astronomers used Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 to build the image.

Alx · 12-01-2005, 02:47 PM

Here's the detail:

This image of the Crab Nebula, released by NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency) on Thursday, Dec. 1,2005, is one of the largest ever produced with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Earth-orbiting observatory. It gives the most detailed view so far of the entire nebula. The space agencies say the Crab Nebula is one of the most intricately structured and dynamic objects ever observed.

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

12-01-2005, 02:46 PM	#1
Alx Connoisseur Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: --Poconos, PA.-- 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Posts: 6,012 Thanks: 1,243 Thanked 662 Times in 316 Posts	Intricate Crab Nebula Poses for Hubble Close-Up Hubble Space Telescope has caught the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER of the Crab Nebula, revealing the intricate epitaph of a long-dead star. The nebula spans a patch of space six light-years across and has proved an attractive target for professional and amateur astronomers alike. One light-year is the distance light travels in one year, about 5.8 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers). Wispy filaments, primarily of hydrogen, weave through the Crab Nebula, at the center of which sits a - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER that spins 30 times per second. The only fixed remains of the supernova explosion - the rest of the original star stuff has blown outward - the neutron star acts as a beacon, spitting twin beams of radiation from its poles as it rotates. The dense, city-sized object powers the Crab Nebula's bluish glow, which is generated by electrons that follow the neutron star's magnetic field lines, astronomers said. The elemental composition of the nebula can be picked apart by color, with blue areas indicating neutral oxygen, green regions showing singly ionized sulfur and red portions denoting doubly ionized oxygen, they added. This image superimposes one of the largest ever produced by - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER - and the highest resolution view ever of the nebula - over observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. Astronomers used Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 to build the image.

12-01-2005, 02:47 PM	#2
Alx Connoisseur Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: --Poconos, PA.-- 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Posts: 6,012 Thanks: 1,243 Thanked 662 Times in 316 Posts	Re: Intricate Crab Nebula Poses for Hubble Close-Up Here's the detail: This image of the Crab Nebula, released by NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency) on Thursday, Dec. 1,2005, is one of the largest ever produced with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Earth-orbiting observatory. It gives the most detailed view so far of the entire nebula. The space agencies say the Crab Nebula is one of the most intricately structured and dynamic objects ever observed. - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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