Spectroscopic and Rotational Frequency Analysis of the Crab

The Crab Pulsar and Nebula are some of the most well photographed supernovae remnants in the night sky. Pulsars themselves are vital in the study of high energy physics and cosmology as they provide insight into extreme environments. The Crab Pulsar was studied here in several ways. It was spectroscopically analyzed, compared in apparent magnitude to nearby stars, and had its rotational frequency determined. The spectroscopic analysis did not yield definitive results. However, the magnitude analysis showed that the pulsar is ~40 to 100 times dimmer than its surrounding spectrally identified stars. The rotational frequency was determined to have two components: ω_prim = 36.0[+3.1, -2.8] rev/s and ω_sec = 35.5[+3.1, -2.7] rev/s. These two components are hypothesized by this author to be two sides of the pulsar radiation beam pointing somewhat in earth’s direction—as the two components are in series and have the same apparent frequency.