On July 4th, 1054
Chinese astronomers recorded a guest star
in the constellation Taurus.
The extremely bright visitor
was seen during daytime for several weeks
and at night for almost two years.
Today, we know this event was a supernova,
the explosive death of a massive star.
At that location,
a thousand years later,
we find the Crab Nebula.
Using visible light,
the Hubble Space Telescope observes
emission from chemical elements ...
... such as oxygen ...
... and sulfur.
The Spitzer Space Telescope detects infrared light
from charged particles in complex magnetic fields.
The high energy heart of the nebula
is revealed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The core of the exploded star
collapsed to form a pulsar,
a rapidly spinning neutron star.
A ringed disk of hot energetic material
encircles the stellar remnant.
The pulsar spews forth
twin jets of particles
perpendicular to the disk.
Energy from the Crab Pulsar
is primarily responsible for the
emissions seen by all three telescopes.
The pulsar’s intense magnetic fields
generate emission called “synchrotron radiation”
at infrared and other wavelengths.
The higher energy synchrotron radiation
heats the elements that glow at visible wavelengths.
NASA's Great Observatories
showcase the multi-wavelength, nested structure
of the Crab Nebula.
This Crab Nebula composite image illustrates
the interconnected emissions from the pulsar wind nebula.