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Crab Nebula in 60 Seconds
Narrator (Megan Watzke, CXC): The Crab Nebula is one of the best-known images ever taken
by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In X-ray light we can see a nebula of material that
is powered by a rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron star at the center of the image. This
particular Chandra image of the Crab shows how far the neutron star's influence is, creating
these fingers and loops of radiation that extend far away from the neutron star. Looking
at the Crab in other wavelengths, such as optical light from Hubble, seen here in green,
and Spitzer's infrared view in red, we see a much different picture. The size of the
X-ray image is smaller than the others because X-ray-emitting electrons radiate away their
energy faster than the lower-energy electrons that emit optical and infrared light. Only
by comparing these different wavelengths can we begin to see the total picture of the Crab
Nebula.