Astronomy APOD Crab Nebula-2
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114
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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Pages
4
Uploaded by SuperHumanAlligator383
Leah Deliyannis
ASTR 114
Mr. Taylor
11/8/23
The Crab Nebula
The image depicted above is known as the expanding Crab Nebula and was published on March
20, 2023. As I was scrolling through the different astronomy pictures of the day the crab nebula
immediately caught my attention because of its name. Once I did more research about this image
I concluded that its name is not the only interesting factor regarding the image. It turns out that
the Crab Nebula is an expanding supernova remnant, which is the result of the explosion of a star
in the supernova. In 1054 AD Japanese and Chinese astronomers were observing the sky and
discovered a “guest star.” The star was so bright that it remained visible during the day for
nearly three weeks and only faded nearly two years later. The star they had observed was a
supernova explosion, and it was the first supernova observation ever recorded. The Crab Nebula
was discovered by English astronomer John Belvis in 1731 when he observed it with his
telescope. It was then later observed by Charles Messier because he mistook it for Halley’s
Comet. Charles Messier then added it as his first entry in his Messier catalog.
Since its birth, the Crab Nebula has been expanding at a rate of over 1,000 kilometers per
second, and it is approximately 10 light-years across today. Another fascinating aspect of the
Crab Nebula is that, despite it being predominantly gas, at its core resides the leftover core from
the dead star, which is known as a pulsar. Pulsars are a kind of dense neutron star that have very
powerful magnetic fields. This pulsar emits beams of radiation, such as X-rays and gamma rays
as it spins extremely fast. The pulsar in the crab nebula spins an astounding 30 times per second,
which produces the glow seen in the center of this nebula.
As it rotates at this rate of 30 times per
second the Crab Pulsar's magnetic field sweeps around, pushing out particles at speeds close to
that of light.
This specific pulsar is one of the most energetic and studied pulsars known. This
pulsar has a diameter of only 18 miles but it has at least 1.5 times the mass of the Sun and
produces 75,000 times more energy compared to the Sun.
The Crab Nebula shines with an apparent brightness of 8.4 on the magnitude scale and is
approximately 6,500 light years away from Earth, located in the Milky Way galaxy. It is also
known as the Messier 1 and is located in the constellation Taurus. The Crab Nebula is best
observed in January and is so visible that a small telescope can see it. What I find so interesting
about the fact that the Crab Nebula is visible with a small telescope is that it is so far from Earth,
which emphasizes how bright it is. As I stated before the crab nebula is a remarkable 6,500 light
years away from Earth, but since it’s so bright even a small telescope can detect it in the sky.
In conclusion the image of the expanding Crab Nebula, which was published on March 20,
2023, not only draws attention due to its intriguing name but because of its history and
remarkable attributes. The Crab Nebula was born from a supernova explosion in 1054 AD,
which was one of the first supernovas documented. The Crab Nebula has an extraordinary
luminosity, despite being so far away. Finally what I found most interesting is the pulsar that lies
at its core because it produces so much energy and is one of the most energetic pulsars known.
Works cited;
“APOD: 2023 March 20 – M1: The Expanding Crab Nebula.”
NASA
, NASA,
apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230320.html#:~:text=The%20club%20 Nebula%20is%20
cataloged,astronomers%20in%20the%20year%201054. Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.
Crab Nebula - Hubblesite.Org
, hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/3885-Image.
Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.
Crab Nebula Supernova
,
www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio301/content/crab.htm#:~:text=Crab%20Nebula%20Supernova&t
ext=The%20supernova%20that%20created%20the,first%20supernova%20observation%20
ever%20recorded. Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.
Lewis, Briley. “Crab Nebula: Everything You Need to Know.”
Space.Com
, Space, 8 Aug.
2012, www.space.com/16989-crab-nebula-m1.html.
“Messier 1 (The Crab Nebula) - Nasa Science.”
NASA
, NASA,
science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/me
ssier-1/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.
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https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/3885-Image#:~:text=The
%20Crab%20Nebula%20is%20an,11%20light%2Dyears%20in%20wi
dth.
https://www.space.com/16989-crab-nebula-m1.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180104.html#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20Crab%2
0is,over%201%2C000%20kilometers%20per%20second.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-c
atalog/messier-1/
https://www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio301/content/crab.htm#:~:text=Crab%20Nebula%20Sup
ernova&text=The%20supernova%20that%20created%20the,first%20supernova%20obs
ervation%20ever%20recorded.