Although it appears as a smudgy, fuzzy patch of light through smaller scopes, larger instruments reveal a complicated, twisting structure. And a stunning new 3D reconstruction of the remnant’s central regions is now taking our view of this millennia-old object to the next level.
In stunning 3D
Researchers generated the new view using the Spectromètre Imageur à Transformée de Fourier pour l'Etude en Long et en Large de raies d'Emission (SITELLE) instrument on the 3.6-meter Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Mauna Kea. Their reconstruction shows the Crab in exquisite detail from every angle, allowing viewers to zoom in and around the structure. The most striking feature is the remnant’s delicate lattice of gas filaments, which crisscross each other like a honeycomb.The work was published January 18 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Astronomers still aren’t sure exactly what type of star produced the nebula we see today. And based on their new reconstruction, the team now suggests the Crab’s morphology doesn’t quite match the type of supernova (and thus, progenitor star) that most think created it. The researchers hope that by bringing astronomers up close to — and even inside of — the Crab, they’ll be better able to determine the type of star that exploded to give birth to this amazing object.
The Link LonkFebruary 26, 2021 at 01:31AM
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Fly through the Crab Nebula's delicate heart - Astronomy Magazine
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Crab
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