The Pulsar Powered Crab
Credit & Copyright: J. Hester and P. Scowen
(ASU),
NASA
Explanation:
In the Summer of 1054 A.D.
Chinese astronomers reported
that a star in the
constellation of Taurus suddenly became as bright as the full Moon.
Fading slowly, it remained visible for over a year.
It is now understood
that a spectacular
supernova explosion -
the detonation of a
massive star whose remains
are now
visible as the Crab Nebula-
was responsible for the apparition.
The core of the star collapsed to form a rotating
neutron star or
pulsar,
one of the most exotic objects known to 20th century astronomy.
Like a cosmic lighthouse, the rotating Crab pulsar generates beams of
radio, visible, x-ray and gamma-ray energy which, as the name
suggests, produce pulses as they sweep across our view.
Using a stunning series of
visible light images taken with
the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers have discovered
spectacular pulsar powered motions within the Crab nebula.
Highlights of this
HST Crab "movie" show wisps of material moving
away from the pulsar at half the speed of light, a scintillating halo,
and an intense knot of emission dancing, sprite-like, above the pulsar's pole.
Only 6 miles wide but more
massive than the sun, the pulsar's energy drives the dynamics and emission
of the nebula itself which is more than 10 lightyears across.
In this HST image,
the pulsar is the left most of the two bright central stars.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
