Fact Sheet
Flaming Crab
The remnants of an exploded star spread across the sky in this recent view from Hubble Space Telescope. The streamers of gas and dust form the Crab Nebula, which spans about six light-years. It formed when a massive star exploded as a supernova, blasting most of its material into space and leaving only its crushed core -- a superdense neutron star. The green filaments are rich in sulfur, while red and blue contain concentrations of oxygen. [Credit: NASA/ESA/J. Hester/A. Loll (Arizona State)]
|