Oh, Crab! James Webb reveals never-before-seen details of Crab Nebula

James Webb Space Telescope, an extraordinary space telescopeby the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gazed at Crab Nebula, revealing stunning details. The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant, which is located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

It is reported to be an expanding remnant of a star's supernova explosion. The Japanese and Chinese astronomers recorded this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054 AD. The Crab Nebula has intrigued scientists for years and still draws attention as scientists aim at understanding the conditions, behaviour, and after-effects of supernovae.

On its website, NASA noted that a team led by Tea Temim at Princeton University is searching for answers about the Crab Nebula's origins using James Webb'ss NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument).

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As quoted by NASA, Temim explained: "Webb's sensitivity and spatial resolution allow us to accurately determine the composition of the ejected material, particularly the content of iron and nickel, which may reveal what type of explosion produced the Crab Nebula."

NASA also released a side-by-side image of the Crab Nebula as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb to compare the different details.

Image: Image of Crab Nebula as seen by the Hubble in optical light (left) and James Webb in infrared light (right). Credit: NASA.

The astronomers at the American space agency can now build a more comprehensive understanding of this mysterious supernova remnant by studying the recently collected Webb data. They also consulted the previous observations of the Crab.

In the latest image, the central regions, emission from dust grains (yellow-white and green), have beenmapped out by Webb for the first time. The general shape of the Crab Nebula is similar to what Hubble had observed.

"Webb highlights what is known as synchrotron radiation: emission produced from charged particles, like electrons, moving around magnetic field lines at relativistic speeds," NASA said.

The pulsar heart of the Crab Nebula can be found by following the wisps that form a bright white dot in the centre and tracing them in a circular pattern resembling ripples.

After that, track the radiation's tiny white ribbons as they extend farther from the core. The nebula is shaped and sculpted by the pulsar's magnetic field, which is indicated by the closely spaced, curved wisps.

The NASA report mentioned that the white material appears to be pinching the nebula's waist as it curves abruptly inward from the filamentary dust cage's edges towards the neutron star's location at the centre, left and right.

(With inputs from agencies)

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