Explore the multiwavelength view of the Crab Nebula at Viewspace.org and NASA's discussion of
the origin of this radiation. Compare these to the view of the Helix Nebula and NASA's video of its
radiation. The discussion of the visible and infrared are better at the NASA sites, but the
Viewspace sliders can help you quickly notice features in each range. If you were observing these
objects for the first time, what evidence would you use to show that the Crab Nebula is a
supernova remnant while the Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula? - In the X-ray range: In the
center of the , we see evidence of particle jets. should look exactly like this, as their magnetic
fields funnel particles away along their magnetic poles. These remnants occur at the center of
Type II Supernova explosions, so this object is a supernova remnant. In the center of the , we see
an X-ray glow from a point-like structure. There are no particle jets, so it can't be a , and therefore
must be a , which is found at the center of a planetary nebula. - In the visible and infrared ranges:
In the , filaments of hydrogen gas in the outer structure glow (careful: the visible color in the
Viewspace view is false color check with NASA!). Closer to the center, a blue glow comes from .
That could only happen in the presence of a strong magnetic field, lending additional support to
this object being a supernova remnant. - In the outer structure of the , we observe emission from
in the visible, and farther from the center emission from and blackbody radiation from . No exotic
magnetic effects are needed to understand these ranges, so it's likely that this is simply a
planetary nebula..
Explore the multiwavelength view of the Crab Nebula at Views.pdf
1. Explore the multiwavelength view of the Crab Nebula at Viewspace.org and NASA's discussion of
the origin of this radiation. Compare these to the view of the Helix Nebula and NASA's video of its
radiation. The discussion of the visible and infrared are better at the NASA sites, but the
Viewspace sliders can help you quickly notice features in each range. If you were observing these
objects for the first time, what evidence would you use to show that the Crab Nebula is a
supernova remnant while the Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula? - In the X-ray range: In the
center of the , we see evidence of particle jets. should look exactly like this, as their magnetic
fields funnel particles away along their magnetic poles. These remnants occur at the center of
Type II Supernova explosions, so this object is a supernova remnant. In the center of the , we see
an X-ray glow from a point-like structure. There are no particle jets, so it can't be a , and therefore
must be a , which is found at the center of a planetary nebula. - In the visible and infrared ranges:
In the , filaments of hydrogen gas in the outer structure glow (careful: the visible color in the
Viewspace view is false color check with NASA!). Closer to the center, a blue glow comes from .
That could only happen in the presence of a strong magnetic field, lending additional support to
this object being a supernova remnant. - In the outer structure of the , we observe emission from
in the visible, and farther from the center emission from and blackbody radiation from . No exotic
magnetic effects are needed to understand these ranges, so it's likely that this is simply a
planetary nebula.
