Well, in this case it is. Back in 2003, #Saturn's moon Titan passed in front of the #CrabNebula. Chandra was on the spot, catching the transit as it happened. Astronomers were able to see the shadow cast by Titan, and used the size of that shadow to measure the extent of Titan's atmosphere.
A great result, demonstrating the power of the Dark Side!
Oh wow! Just saw the new JWST image of the Crab Nebula! 😍😍😍
That wispy white stuff - that’s synchrotron radiation … emissions produced by electrons being accelerated around magnetic field lines at relativistic speeds by the 33 Hz pulsar at the centre.
Fun science:
Your microwave at home uses wavelengths of ~12-30cm range which cause water and other molecules to spin/vibrate thus heating them up.
Crab Pulsar's magnetic dipole radiation wavelength is about 10^7m & it heats up the surrounding nebula too!
With the news story going around about how Pulsar's were discovered before Dr Jocelyn Bell Burnell made her historic observation, here she is talking about several stories, including that one, of when other's had observed them before she did