A new photo of the Crab Nebula, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, is helping scientists analyze the composition and history of the ancient supernova remnant.
The Crab Nebula, located in the constellation Taurus, is the result of a supernova explosion that was seen from Earth in 1054 AD and was bright enough to be seen during the day.
Now, using Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), this new image of the Crab Nebula, which was released to the public on June 17, is helping scientists better understand supernovae. and the evolution of stars.
Located more than 6,500 light-years away from Earth, the Crab Nebula is all that remains of a core-collapse supernova resulting from the death of a massive star. It was the first astronomical object recognized as being connected to a supernova explosion.
According to NASA’s Webb mission team on June 17 Press release, the Crab Nebula is highly unusual. Due to its atypical composition and very low explosion energy, scientists previously explained it as an electron capture supernova, a rare type of explosion that arises from a star with a less evolved core.
Now, new data from Webb expands possible interpretations of the nebula’s composition, meaning it may not have been caused by an electron capture explosion, but rather by a weak iron core-collapse supernova.
Webb is opening the Crab Nebula to help scientists discover what’s inside it.
The Crab is the remnant of what was once a massive star, but it has a highly unusual composition, making scientists think its star may not have been typical either: pic.twitter.com/36DljlDI1c
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) June 17, 2024
For the first time, the Webb telescope, with its sensitive infrared capabilities, focused on two areas located within the Crab’s inner filaments and mapped the light emitted by the dust in high resolution.
After mapping hot dust emission with Webb, the team created a complete picture of the dust distribution: the outermost filaments contain relatively hotter dust, while cooler grains predominate near the center.
While other supernova remnants have dust at their centers, the Crab Nebula’s dust is found in the dense filaments of the outer layer.
Webb also mapped the light emitted by Crab Nebula dust in high resolution for the first time. Unlike other supernova remnants, which have dust concentrated in their centers, the Crab Nebula’s dust is found in the dense filaments of the outer layer. pic.twitter.com/7yVNEZt4Bt
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) June 17, 2024
“Represented as fluffy magenta material, the dust grains form a cage-like structure that is most apparent in the lower left and upper right parts of the remnant,” Webb said. Press release States.
“Filaments of dust also spread throughout the interior of the Crab and sometimes coincide with regions of doubly ionized sulfur (sulfur III) colored green. Whitish-yellow mottled filaments, which form large loop-like structures around the center of the supernova remnant, represent areas where dust and doubly ionized sulfur overlap.”
“The Crab Nebula lives up to a tradition in astronomy: the closest, brightest and best-studied objects tend to be bizarre,” said Nathan Smith, of the University of Arizona Steward Observatory and co-author of the paper.
