James Webb Space Telescope continues to shed light on the mysteries of space. Despite being located far from Earth, the Crab Nebula offers a visual spectacle. Once again, the legendary James Webb Space Telescope has made a breathtaking discovery. With this discovery, NASA allows us to watch a visual feast as it once again gets lost in the depths of space. The new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope shows the legendary Crab Nebula in infrared light, emphasizing the dusty filaments that make up its cage-like structure. So, how did this nebula capture the attention of astronomers? The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant resulting from the colossal explosion of a massive star at the end of its life, observed on Earth in the year 1054. Since then, astronomers have been monitoring the growth and changes of this nebula caused by the explosion. This nebula had previously been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer Observatory. The Hubble Space Telescope primarily observes optical wavelengths, while the telescopes at NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer Observatory observe the X-ray wavelength. Researchers have managed to combine all these results into an image that represents optical, infrared, and X-ray views. However, the new Webb image shows different aspects of the Crab Nebula. For this discovery, Webb used the NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) instruments. As a result, Webb managed to see the structures of gas filaments shown in red and orange as well as the fluffy yellowish dust regions. Researchers have also discovered another feature in the infrared image. Scientists found a milky substance inside the Crab Nebula. This substance was created by a neutron star with a strong magnetic field. Additionally, this substance is a type of radiation known as synchrotron radiation.
Researchers are exploring the Crab Nebula for another purpose alongside its legendary image. Scientists want to understand how it formed after the supernova event that expelled material clouds, particularly the composition of iron and nickel. To do this, they are deepening their research.
Tea Temim, the lead researcher from Princeton University, made a statement. In her statement, she said, “Webb’s sensitivity and spatial resolution allow us to determine the composition of the expelled material accurately, particularly the content of iron and nickel. This can reveal the type of explosion that caused the Crab Nebula.
