Chandra Release - May 11, 2011

Visual Description: Crab Nebula

The supernova remnant Crab Nebula is featured close-up in a series of Chandra X-ray images colored in a blue to white gradient.  The overall structure of the supernova remnant Crab Nebula can be described as an irregularly shaped nebulous bell.   In the images, there is a bright, white dot in the center of the nebula, a complex network of filamentary structures that form a ring, as well as a jet.  At the edges of the nebula, there are distinctive little wings or protrusions. Overall, the timelapse shows a sequence of Chandra images of the Crab Nebula, taken over an interval of seven months. Dramatic variations are seen in the Chandra images, including the expansion of the ring of X-ray emission around the pulsar (white dot near center) and changes in the knots within this ring.