Southern Crab National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Nebula
Hubble Cracks Open a
Cosmic Crab
This colorful image from the Hubble Space Telescope
highlights the unique shapes around an aging star system.
Called the Southern Crab Nebula, it has two nested hourglass-
shaped structures. The outer hourglass is brightest at the edges,
giving the illusion of crab legs.
This huge symmetrical structure was sculpted by the
interaction between a whirling pair of stars, seen as the bright (O) Oxygen (H) Hydrogen
glow in the center of the nebula. The duo is made up of an O HN S
aging red giant star and a white dwarf— a burned-out star.
The red giant star is shedding some of its outer layers, which
spill onto the white dwarf, creating a gaseous disk. The white
dwarf’s orbit constricts the gaseous outflow so that it only Spectrum
speeds away above and below the disk, forming the two sets
of hourglass shapes. The red giant is apparently expelling its
gas in episodes because the inner and outer structures were
created at different times.
Astronomers used Hubble to divide the light from the Southern
Crab Nebula into its various colors, or wavelengths— a process
called spectroscopy. This technique shows which chemical
elements are present and how they are distributed in the
nebula. Energized by radiation from the stellar companions,
each element glows in specific colors (or wavelengths) of light.
(N) Nitrogen (S) Sulfur
Spectroscopy is a fundamental astronomical method for
revealing not only composition but also the temperature and
motion of luminous bodies. Combined with imaging, it is an This diagram illustrates the spectral observations from
important diagnostic tool that helps astronomers develop a Hubble that astronomers used to study the chemical
comprehensive picture of astronomical objects. makeup of the Southern Crab Nebula. The nebula
contains elements forged within an aging star system.
Most of the elements in the universe are produced inside Hubble divided the light from the nebula’s filaments
of stars through nuclear fusion. When a star dies, it recycles to record the emission from oxygen (green), hydrogen
some of its material back into the galaxy. This same process is (yellow), nitrogen (orange), and sulfur (red). Those
happening in the Southern Crab Nebula. The recycled material
elements are shown in the images above. In the middle
from the stellar death provides the building blocks for new
is the resulting spectrum showing the location of the
stars, planets, and possibly life.
specific colors emitted from these elements.
This image was released to celebrate Hubble’s 29th anniversary
in space.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and STScI VOCABULARY
Red Giant: A Sun-like star nearing the end of its life. Its
outer layers expand and become cooler, forming a bright star
You can get images and news about the Hubble Space Telescope on much larger and cooler than the Sun.
our website, hubblesite.org. For images and information on the White Dwarf: The hot, compact remains of a star that has
Hubble mission, go to www.nasa.gov/hubble. Follow the Hubble
mission on social media: @NASAHubble. exhausted its sources of fuel for nuclear fusion in its core.
For education activities, go to the Amazing Space website at Nuclear Fusion: The process by which multiple atomic nuclei
amazingspace.org. join together to form a heavier nucleus. When light nuclei
combine to form heavier nuclei, energy is released. This energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration is what powers stars like our Sun.
Goddard Space Flight Center
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