Optical identification of dust within the Crab Nebula's filaments
Creators
- 1. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (USA)
- 2. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (USA)
- 3. Colorado Univ., Boulder (USA)
Description
Optical continuum images of the Crab Nebula are presented which reveal numerous, small dark spots across the face of the Crab's amorphous synchrotron nebula. These spots range in size from being unresolved at 0.8-arcsec resolution to about 5 arcsec, exhibit Delta(m)4470 = 0.08-0.44, and are most visible in the shorter-wavelength continuum images. Comparisons with images taken using interference filters centered on various emission lines indicate that these dark features are coincident with forbidden O I, C I, and S II bright cores of selected filaments. This positional coincidence plus a wavelength dependence similar to that exhibited by conventional interstellar dust establishes the presence of dust within at least some of the Crab Nebula's filaments. 26 refs
Additional details
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Astrophysical Journal
- Journal Volume
- 351
- Series
- Astrophys. J.
- Journal Page Range
- L45-L48
- ISSN
- 0004-637X
- CODEN
- ASJOA
INIS
- Country of Publication
- United States
- Country of Input or Organization
- United States
- INIS RN
- 21055703
- Subject category
- S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
- Descriptors DEI
- COSMIC DUST; CRAB NEBULA; EMISSION SPECTRA; FORBIDDEN TRANSITIONS; IMAGES; INTERSTELLAR SPACE; MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES; SUPERNOVA REMNANTS; SUPERNOVAE; SYNCHROTRON RADIATION; VISIBLE RADIATION
- Descriptors DEC
- BINARY STARS; BREMSSTRAHLUNG; COSMIC RADIO SOURCES; DUSTS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS; ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS; NEBULAE; RADIATIONS; SPACE; SPECTRA; STARS; VARIABLE STARS