Leftovers anyone?
In this case the over 900 year old leftovers of a supernova, or star that collapsed and exploded in 1054 AD.
Seriously beautiful stuff!
The orange filaments are the tattered remains of the star and consist mostly of hydrogen. The rapidly spinning neutron star embedded in the center of the nebula is the dynamo powering the nebula's eerie interior bluish glow. The blue light comes from electrons whirling at nearly the speed of light around magnetic field lines from the neutron star. The neutron star, like a lighthouse, ejects twin beams of radiation that appear to pulse 30 times a second due to the neutron star's rotation. A neutron star is the crushed ultra-dense core of the exploded star.
To find out more
The space really is fascinating @gavvet with all the different kinds of stars which some say are made by blackhole spurts energy.
So the Crab Nebula has been going since 1054? What a tidbit to add to my collection! It would be neat to see a short video of it all underway, compressed into like a GIF or vine. This is probably false color though, and we haven't really been looking with crazy powerful tech for too long. Maybe simulations could roll back the clock to make such a video, just to satisfy my whimsy :)
Its more than beautiful, its celestial!! Love it
My PC has these pics all over the place....and never gotten tired of it
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