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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble
Explanation: This is the mess that is left when a star explodes. The Crab Nebula , the result of a supernova seen in 1054 AD , is filled with mysterious filaments. The filaments are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The above image , taken by the Hubble Space Telescope , is presented in three colors chosen for scientific interest. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years . In the nebula's very center lies a pulsar : a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town . The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.
| Date | October 25, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: NASA , ESA , J. Hester, A. Loll ( ASU ); Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin ( Skyfactory ) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |