Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2025 August 24
     [2]he featured image shows the center of the Crab Nebula in colors
      mapped to Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer space telescopes. The Crab
   pulsar appears in the center surrounded by a spinning disk. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                   The Spinning Pulsar of the Crab Nebula
     Image Credit: [3]NASA: X-ray: [4]Chandra (CXC), Optical: [5]Hubble
                 (STScI), Infrared: [6]Spitzer (JPL-Caltech)

   Explanation: At the core of the [7]Crab Nebula lies a city-sized,
   magnetized [8]neutron star spinning 30 times a second. Known as the
   [9]Crab Pulsar, it is the bright spot in the center of the gaseous
   swirl at the nebula's core. About twelve light-years across, the
   spectacular picture frames the glowing gas, cavities and swirling
   filaments near the [10]Crab Nebula's center. The [11]featured picture
   combines [12]visible light from the [13]Hubble Space Telescope in
   purple, [14]X-ray light from the [15]Chandra X-ray Observatory in blue,
   and [16]infrared light from the [17]Spitzer Space Telescope in red.
   Like a [18]cosmic dynamo, the Crab [19]pulsar powers the emission from
   the nebula, driving a [20]shock wave through surrounding material and
   accelerating the spiraling electrons. With more mass than [21]the Sun
   and the density of an [22]atomic nucleus,the [23]spinning pulsar is the
   collapsed core of a massive star that [24]exploded. The outer parts of
   the Crab Nebula are the expanding remnants of the star's component
   gases. The supernova explosion was [25]witnessed on planet Earth in
   [26]the year 1054.

      Sky Surprise: [27]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                (after 1995)
                    Tomorrow's picture: stellar surprise
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [39]Robert Nemiroff ([40]MTU) & [41]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([42]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [43]Specific rights apply.
            [44]NASA Web Privacy, [45]Accessibility, [46]Notices;
                A service of: [47]ASD at [48]NASA / [49]GSFC,
                         [50]NASA Science Activation
                           & [51]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2508/Crab_HubbleChandraSpitzer_3600.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://chandra.harvard.edu/
   5. https://www.stsci.edu/hst
   6. https://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/
   7. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-1-the-crab-nebula
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_star
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Pulsar
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220304.html
  11. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2018/crab/
  12. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight
  13. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/overview/about-hubble/
  14. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/11_xrays
  15. https://chandra.harvard.edu/about/
  16. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves
  17. https://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/mission/mission-overview
  18. https://chandra.harvard.edu/chronicle/0201/vela.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010602.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220522.html
  21. https://www.google.com/search?q=mass+of+the+sun
  22. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nuclear/nucuni.html
  23. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EVX7krUYYjs
  24. https://youtu.be/aysiMbgml5g
  25. https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/03/43/87/98/1000_F_343879856_Ino0o68y6MO3wCJsvVdclbT381NkKvhT.jpg
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250808.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250823.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  34. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  37. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250824
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250825.html
  39. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  40. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  41. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  42. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  43. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  47. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/
  49. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  50. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  51. http://www.mtu.edu/