This is the Crab Nebula,
located in the constellation Taurus
6,500 light-years away.
The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant,
a cosmic structure
resulting from the explosion of a star.
A vast, expanding cloud of gas and dust
surrounds one of the densest objects
in the universe:
a neutron star.
The Crab Nebula is made up of
many components
including ionized sulfur,
seen here in red-orange,
dust in yellow-green,
and synchrotron emission in a milky-white.
In the center of it all is the Crab's pulsar,
a rapidly rotating neutron star.
The pulsar has an incredibly strong magnetic field
and rotates very fast.
It produces a wind of energetic particles
that we call a pulsar wind nebula.
These thin, bright lines
trace the shape of the magnetic field
around the pulsar,
which give the nebula its form.
Fast-moving particles
spiral around the strong magnetic field lines
and produce a type of light
called synchrotron emission,
appearing here as smoke-like material
around the Crab's interior.
The outer parts of the remnant show remains
of the exploded star
blown out into interstellar space.
This bright, hot material
was ejected at very high speeds
and has fractured into
intricate filaments and tendrils
as it was pushed outward
by the pulsar wind nebula.
Here and here,
the nebula appears to narrow.
This abrupt slimming
may be caused by the confinement
of the pulsar wind’s expansion
by a belt of dense gas.
With Webb’s infrared sensitivity,
and data from past telescope observations,
astronomers are gaining
a comprehensive understanding
of this region,
and its distinct
and captivating complexities.