Space photo of the week: James Webb and Chandra telescopes spot a 'lighthouse' pointed at Earth

What it is: The Crab Nebula (also called M1), a supernova remnant

Where it is: 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus

When it was shared: June 3, 2024

Why it’s so special: This new composite image combines data from both the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory to reveal more about the dense neutron star at the center of one of the brightest supernova remnants in the night sky.

The Crab Nebula is what’s left of a bright star. In A.D. 1054, viewers on Earth briefly saw this star in the night sky as it exploded at the end of its life — an event called a supernova. The unexpected “guest star” caught stargazers’ attention around the world and may have been depicted on a rare Byzantine coin as well as by Puebloan people in a “supernova pictograph” at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, according to researchers at the High Altitude Observatory. The supernova left behind a dense neutron star surrounded…

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Space photo of the week: James Webb and Chandra telescopes spot a ‘lighthouse’ pointed at Earth

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