Crab nebula’s heart revealed: NASA captures city-sized star in motion

The Spinning Pulsar of the Crab Nebula (Image: NASA)

The Crab Nebula has once again captured global attention. At its centre lies a pulsar that spins thirty times every second. Scientists describe it as a city-sized neutron star with an immense magnetic field.

What is the Crab Pulsar?
The Crab Pulsar is seen as a bright spot within the nebula. It sits inside the gaseous swirl at the nebula’s core. Measuring about twelve light-years across, this region holds glowing gas and complex filaments. A combined image shows the details in striking colours. Purple marks visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope. Blue captures X-rays from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Red outlines infrared light from the Spitzer Space Telescope.

How does the pulsar power the nebula?
The pulsar acts like a cosmic dynamo in space. It powers radiation across the nebula and drives shock waves. These waves push through surrounding material and accelerate spiralling electrons. Despite its small size, it holds more mass than our Sun. Its density matches that of an atomic nucleus. The pulsar is the collapsed core of a massive star that exploded long ago.

What happened to the outer regions?
The outer parts of the Crab Nebula still expand today. These are remnants of gases from the exploded star. Astronomers recorded this event on Earth in the year 1054. The historic supernova was observed across continents nearly a thousand years ago.