The Crab Nebula: A Cosmic Icon - Spectacular death of a star in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D.
Description: The Crab Nebula is an iconic object in space that has been studied intensely by both telescopes on the ground and those in space. This image of the Crab combines data from three of NASA's Great Observatories. X-rays from Chandra (blue) have been combined with optical images from Hubble (red and yellow) as well as infrared data from Spitzer (purple). Together, these three telescopes provide a striking view of this famous cosmic source.
Creator/Photographer: Chandra X-ray Observatory
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was launched and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, is the most sophisticated X-ray observatory built to date. The mirrors on Chandra are the largest, most precisely shaped and aligned, and smoothest mirrors ever constructed. Chandra is helping scientists better understand the hot, turbulent regions of space and answer fundamental questions about origin, evolution, and destiny of the Universe. The images Chandra makes are twenty-five times sharper than the best previous X-ray telescope. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Medium: Chandra telescope x-ray
Date: 2009
Persistent URL: chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/crab/
Repository: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Gift line: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Seward; Optical: NASA/ESA/ASU/J.Hester & A.Loll; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. Minn./R.Gehrz
Accession number: crab_440
The Crab Nebula: A Cosmic Icon - Spectacular death of a star in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D.
Description: The Crab Nebula is an iconic object in space that has been studied intensely by both telescopes on the ground and those in space. This image of the Crab combines data from three of NASA's Great Observatories. X-rays from Chandra (blue) have been combined with optical images from Hubble (red and yellow) as well as infrared data from Spitzer (purple). Together, these three telescopes provide a striking view of this famous cosmic source.
Creator/Photographer: Chandra X-ray Observatory
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was launched and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, is the most sophisticated X-ray observatory built to date. The mirrors on Chandra are the largest, most precisely shaped and aligned, and smoothest mirrors ever constructed. Chandra is helping scientists better understand the hot, turbulent regions of space and answer fundamental questions about origin, evolution, and destiny of the Universe. The images Chandra makes are twenty-five times sharper than the best previous X-ray telescope. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Medium: Chandra telescope x-ray
Date: 2009
Persistent URL: chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/crab/
Repository: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Gift line: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Seward; Optical: NASA/ESA/ASU/J.Hester & A.Loll; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. Minn./R.Gehrz
Accession number: crab_440