The Crab Nebula (Messier 1, M1) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula located in the constellation Taurus, about 6,523 light-years from Earth. It was formed by the explosion of a massive star in 1054 AD, an event recorded by Chinese and Middle Eastern astronomers. 1/ #Astrophotography - ThreadSky

explorecosmos.bsky.social • 1 day ago

The Crab Nebula (Messier 1, M1) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula located in the constellation Taurus, about 6,523 light-years from Earth. It was formed by the explosion of a massive star in 1054 AD, an event recorded by Chinese and Middle Eastern astronomers. 1/

#Astrophotography

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explorecosmos.bsky.social•1 day ago

The nebula is expanding at an average speed of about 1,500 km/s, though the expansion is not uniform across all regions. It currently spans approximately 11 light-years, but its size is constantly increasing. 2/

explorecosmos.bsky.social•1 day ago

At its core lies the Crab Pulsar, a rapidly spinning neutron star that rotates slightly more than 30.2 times per second and is gradually slowing down over time. The nebula emits radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, making it one of the brightest X-ray and gamma-ray sources in the sky. 3/

explorecosmos.bsky.social•1 day ago

The Crab Nebula’s filaments contain ionized gas (hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and iron), while its distinctive glow results from both synchrotron radiation—produced by high-energy electrons spiraling around magnetic fields—and emission lines from ionized gases. 4/

explorecosmos.bsky.social•1 day ago

The balance of these contributions varies across different regions and wavelengths, making the nebula a key target for astrophysical research. 5/5

bluefighter.bsky.social•18 hours ago

It looks like it has a stethoscope head in it!

johnboots.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Didn’t the star actually explode 6,523 years before that? 1054 is just when earth folk observed it.

explorecosmos.bsky.social•11 hours ago

The supernova explosion actually happened about 6,523 years before 1054 AD, but its light only reached Earth in 1054 AD due to the finite speed of light.

Since the Crab Nebula is about 6,523 light-years away, this means the explosion occurred around 7,577 BC in its own time frame. 1/2

explorecosmos.bsky.social•11 hours ago

However, because light takes time to travel, observers on Earth saw it in 1054 AD. This applies to all astronomical observations, we always see objects as they were in the past, not as they are right now. 2/2

irish5.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Fantastic 💙

avalanchepass.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Beautiful and Thank you for the lesson

mrduplicity.bsky.social•1 day ago

Pretty

snarktopia.bsky.social•19 hours ago

Those extra shock wave rings... really great detail.

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