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I will unofficially update this website on random dates within any random time interval.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Clearest View Yet Of A 1,000 Year Old Explosion [Space Porn]

The Clearest View Yet Of A 1,000 Year Old Explosion [Space Porn]: "

In 1054, humans recorded sightings of the mega-star explosion that created the Crab Nebula. It was so bright it was visible to the naked eye. Now three space telescopes have together created a more complete picture of the debris.

According to National Geographic:

This new picture of the Crab Nebula combines data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope . . . Infrared light caught by Spitzer and visible light seen by Hubble paint the nebula's expanding debris cloud in shades of purple and red. Meanwhile, Chandra's x-ray vision is helping astronomers understand the high-energy particles (seen in blue) coming from the dead star's core, known as a white dwarf.

I just love that weird tendril of x-rays shooting out of the white dwarf. It seems to be emerging from a giant maw in space (which - isn't there a Doctor Who story called Maw In Space? Maybe I'm just on crack).

via National Geographic



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