Mt. Palomar image of the Crab Nebula M1

[M1, 3-color, P Scowen/Palomar 0bs.] The crab nebula with enhanced outer filaments shows up in this earthbound computer-enhanced image. The reddish and yellow filaments are identified as expanding gases, consisted of the matter that was once ejected by the supernova explosion, and superimposing the blue light of the synchrotron nebula.

This image is a color composite of pictures taken from the GROUND using the Palomar 60-inch with a focal reducer. The colors are green [OIII] lambda 5007 emission, red H alpha emission, and blue line-free continuum at 5470 A - ie. the synchrotron emission nebula.

This image was obtained by Paul Scowen of the Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Any but personal use of these images should be indicated to the author. Together with Jeff Hester, Paul Scowen has also investigated the Crab Nebula with the Hubble Space Telescope. Althought the HST images have revealed spectacular new results, it can only photograph small portions of the nebula in its field of view, which is by far not large enough to take a pic of the entire nebula.

Compare this image with the one obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope.

  • More Earth-bound images of Paul Scowen

    David Malin of the AAO and Jay Pasachoff of Williams College have postprocessed and enhanced old Palomar images of the Crab Nebula, M1.

    Hartmut Frommert
    Christine Kronberg
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    Last Modification: May 29, 2005