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Crab Nebula
The Remnant Radiation
Palomar, PRC96-22a, ST Sci OPO, May 30, 1996,
J.Hester and P.Scowen (AZ State Univ.) and NASA
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The energy of the explosion was stupendous. Most of the star's mass is ejected at
speeds of hundreds of kilometers per SECOND, becoming a cosmic vacuum cleaner of
sorts, sweeping up all the gas in its path as it rushes outward from its former
stellar home. Where the gas it encounters in the depths of space is rather
concentrated, it slows down a bit more than where the gas is more rarified. Thus,
the nebula appears fairly irregular, with the beautiful wisps, knots, and
filaments that we still see today.
But what powers the nebula? How can we still see it after all these years? What
makes it glow so steadily in the sky? The answer was to wait until very recently,
1967, when a strange radio signal was detected in the sky....
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