Chandra X-ray Observatory images of the Crab Nebula M1

The Crab nebula in X-ray light, as photographed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

At the center of the Crab Nebula is a rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar that emits pulses of radiation 30 times a second. The image shows the central pulsar surrounded by tilted rings of high-energy particles that appear to have been flung outward over a distance of more than a light year from the pulsar. Perpendicular to the rings, jet-like structures produced by high-energy particles blast away from the pulsar. The diameter of the inner ring in the image is about a tenth of a light year, more than 200 times the diameter of our solar system. The X rays from the Crab nebula are produced by high-energy particles spiraling around magnetic field lines in the Nebula. The bell-shaped appearance of the Nebula could be due to the interaction of this huge magnetized bubble with clouds of gas and dust in the vicinity.

Crab Nebula Stuff from the Chandra X-ray Observatory Team

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Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
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Last Modification: June 10, 2000