The Crab nebula is the remnant of a supernova (SN) observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054 in the constellation Taurus. The inner part of the remnant is largely dominated by a pulsar wind nebula (PWN), which is the nebula powered by the wind generated by a central pulsar (a magnetized rotating neutron star). The model describes the 3D structure of the PWN, which is characterized by two extended jets and a torus lying on a plane roughly perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the jets. The transparent image passing through the center of the remnant is a composite showing actual optical (Hubble), infrared (Spitzer) and X-ray (Chandra) observations of the remnant and PWN.

MHD simulation performed with the PLUTO code.

Reference: Olmi et al. 2016, J. Plasma Phys. 82, Id. 635820601.

Credits: INAF/OAPA/OAA; Crab nebula image by NASA/Hubble/Spitzer/Chandra.