Crab Nebula
For millions of years a star shined in the far off constellation of Taurus. So far away, and so faint that even if our eyes were ten thousand times more sensitive, the star would still not be visible to us on the Earth. Then one day, in a few seconds, all that changed. An explosion beyond belief in its intensity lit up the heavens; it still shines, almost one thousand years later....
It was just another day in the year 1054. People walking around the marketplace, discussing the current gossip about the latest advance of the barbarian hordes to the north. In places, it was raining, perhaps, but SOMEWHERE it was probably clear...
Within one minute, a dazzling light ten billion times more energetic than that of the Sun burst into the daytime heavens. Although so far away that it seemed a mere pinpoint, Chinese astronomers reported that the new heavenly jewel outshone all the stars visible in the sky. Its intense glow ruled the sky for months. You could READ by its fiery light.
The scholars of the day called them "guest stars", and probably calmed many a fearful citizen when they informed them that one had appeared in 1006, a mere 48 years ago, and that all who witnessed the event survived.
For several hundred days, the star was visible during the day, slowly, slowly fading toward the obscurity from which it emerged. The Crab Nebula had just been created.
We have come full circle. The universe ensures that for every end there is a new beginning. In its death throes, supernovas enrich the interstellar medium so that new stars and planets can be born. In fact, every atom of calcium in every bone in your body, every atom of iron in your blood, was shot out of a star billions of years ago, before the birth of our own Sun. We are literally and actually Children of the Stars.
So think about what it must be like to witness such a monumental event as a supernova. It may happen any day now in our galaxy; we are long "overdue" for one.
Fast Facts for Multiwavelength Crab Nebula:
Date: 1054 AD
Historical Observers: Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Native American? (Chaco Canyon?)
Constellation: Taurus
Duration of Visibility: 21 months
Remnant: Crab Nebula
Distance Estimate: 6,000 light years
Type: Core collapse of massive star | The core collapse of a massive star is a Type II supernova event. The stellar end product left behind depends upon the initial mass of the star, and is either a neutron star, pulsar, magnetar, or black hole.
The Crab Nebula is one of the most studied objects in the night sky. This version of the Crab Nebula combines data from three different telescopes.
Transcript:
The Crab Nebula is one of the most studied objects in the night sky. First observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054 A.D., and possibly others, this supernova remnant and its neutron star have become favorite targets for amateur and professional astronomers alike. This version of the Crab Nebula combines data from three different telescopes. X-ray data from Chandra, in light blue, show the super-dense neutron star that is the core of the exploded star, which is shooting a blizzard of high-energy particles into the expanding debris field. This super-energetic outflow is striking the cooler gas and dust seen in optical data from Hubble as well as infrared light from Spitzer. The Crab Nebula contains incredibly intriguing science, and provides perhaps one of the most stunning images in all of astronomy.
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Supernova Explosion Simulationby ScaredCrows166,767 views
And they don't use visual range of photography for nebulas. They take pictures applying the three primary colors of light assigned to the composition of the nebula. Red shows emission from singly-ionized sulfur atoms. Green shows emission from hydrogen. Blue shows light emitted by doubly- ionized oxygen atoms. So, if you were to look at the nebula it wouldn't look like the picture shown.
Obamabotting 1 year ago