Exquisite new details of Crab Nebula captured by Webb Telescope

In the new image, the general shape of the supernova remnant is similar to an earlier optical wavelength image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. In the infrared image taken by Webb, the structure of fluffy gaseous filaments is shown in red-orange. In the central regions of the image, you can see some emissions from dust grains in yellow-white and green. This is the first time this feature has been mapped out by any telescope.

Apart from that, some additional aspects that throw light on the inner workings of the Crab Nebula are more prominent and can be seen in greater detail in the infrared light captured by Webb.

Webb is particularly good at highlighting “synchrotron radiation,” which is the emission produced by charged particles like electrons moving around magnetic field lines at near relativistic speeds. That radiation appears in the image in the form of smoke-like material throughout the Crab Nebula’s interior. That is a product of the nebula’s pulsar, which is a rapidly rotating neutron star. The strong magnetic fields of the pulsar accelerate particles to extremely high speeds and make them emit radiation as they wind around the field lines.

If you trace the wispy material that creates a circular ripple-like pattern in the middle, you can locate the Crab Nebula’s pulsar heart. Follow the thin white ribbons of radiation farther out from the core. There, the curvy wisps are grouped together closely, outlining the structure of the pulsar’s magnetic field.

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