In year 1054 Chinese and Arab
astronomers recorded a bright light in the sky. The Crab Supernova
was so bright that it could be seen in daylight for 23 days. The
source star was located in the
Milky Way galaxy at a distance of 6,300 light years. A
supernovae are relatively rare events within a galaxy, occurring
about once every 50 years in the Milky Way. The beautiful cloudy
remnants are now known as the Crab Nebula and is widely imaged by
amateurs and pros.
At the center of the nebula lies the Crab Pulsar, a rotating neutron star, with a spin rate of 30.2 times per second. You can see the pulsar in the big picture. I do not think it look like a crab at all, but the third Earl of Rosse, William Parsons, made a drawing of what he saw in his 36" telescope in 1844. The drawing was, of of course, not very good but the name would not let go. Norwegian:
I år 1054 så kinesiske og arabiske astronomer et
sterkt lys på himmelen. Supernovaen var så klar at den kunne sees i
dagslys i 23 dager. Kilden var en stjerne i Melkeveien hele 6300
lysår borte. En supernova er relativt sjeldne hendelser innenfor en
galakse, og forekommer omtrent en gang hvert 50 år i Melkeveien. De
vakre restene er nå kjent som Krabbetåken og er mye fotografert av
amatører og proffer. I sentrum av tåken ligger en pulsar, en
roterende nøytronstjerne med spinn rate på 30,2 ganger per sekund.
Du kan se pulsaren i det store bildet mitt. TECH SPEC: RA 05h 34m 34s, Dec 22d 01m 31s |
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