False-colour radio map of the Crab Nebula (M1,NGC 1952) at a wavelength of 11 centimetres,taken with the Cambridge 5 km Telescope. The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant about 6000 light years away in the constellation of Taurus. It is the remnant of a catastrophic stellar explosion which was observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers in 1054 AD. At its centre is the Crab pulsar,a rapidly spinning neutron star which is the tiny,dense remnant of the star which exploded. The pulsar is only 10 km in radius & rotates 30 times each second. The map shows emission from electrons spiralling in the pulsar's strong magnetic fields | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / DR S GULL & DR J FIELDEN |
Taille de l’image : | 4933 px × 3487 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |