New X-ray photo shows famous Crab Nebula like never before

This image of the Crab Nebula combines data from NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in magenta and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory in dark purple. (Image credit: X-ray (IXPE: NASA), (Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO) Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand & L. Frattare)

Scientists have mapped the iconic Crab Nebula's magnetic field in greater detail than ever before using NASA's latest X-ray telescope. 

Located 6,500 light-years from Earth, the Crab Nebula is the remnant of a massive stellar explosion, or supernova, that occurred in the year 1054 and left behind a dense object called the Crab Pulsar with a mass about twice that of Earth's sun. This nebula is one of the most thoroughly studied cosmic objects, but new observations suggest that it's far more complex than scientists had thought.