The James Webb space telescope took another photo of a breathtaking moment. He managed to take photographs of the Crab Nebula, which is famous among astronomers. The Crab Nebula is located 6,500 light-years away. It owes its fame to its detailed and beautiful structure. NASA shared this legendary image with space lovers. Here are the details…
Breathtaking Crab Nebula images from the James Webb Space Telescope!
Another brand new discovery from James Webb, NASA’s space telescope that witnessed legendary moments. With this discovery, NASA once again gives us the opportunity to watch a visual feast as we get lost in the impressive depth of space. A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the spectacular nebula as seen in infrared wavelengths, highlighting the dust filaments that form its cage-like shape.
So how did this nebula, which attracts the attention of astronomers, form? The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant, the result of a massive star that exploded at the end of its life centuries ago. The supernova was observed on Earth in 1054 AD. Since then, astronomers have watched the nebula resulting from this explosion grow and change.
This nebula had previously been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Rover observatory. The Hubble Space Telescope looks primarily at optical wavelengths. Telescopes at NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Rover Observatory observe the wavelength of the X-ray. The researchers managed to combine all these results into an image that shows optical, infrared and X-ray.
But the new Webb image shows different aspects of the Crab Nebula. Webb used NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) instruments for this discovery. Thus, Webb was able to see the structures of gas filaments shown in red and orange, as well as regions of dust that appeared in fluffy yellow.
Researchers discovered another feature in the infrared image. Scientists found a white milky substance in the interior of this nebula, the Crab Nebula. This matter was created by a rotating neutron star with a strong magnetic field. Additionally, this substance is a type of radiation called synchrotron radiation.
Researchers study the Crab Nebula for another purpose besides its legendary appearance. Scientists want to learn how it forms after a supernova event that ejects clouds of material when the star explodes. For this reason, they deepened their research.
lead researcher Tea Temim from Princeton University said in a statement. “Webb’s sensitivity and spatial resolution allow us to accurately determine the composition of the ejected material, particularly its iron and nickel content, which could reveal what type of explosion caused the Crab Nebula,” he said in a statement. she said.