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A theoretical astrophysicist from the University of Kansas may have solved a nearly two-decade-old mystery over the origins of an unusual "zebra" pattern seen in high-frequency radio pulses from the Crab Nebula.

This will mark Hubble's first look at emission lines from the Crab Nebula in over 20 years, and will enable astronomers to more accurately compare Webb and Hubble's findings.

The Crab Nebula is among the most interesting and well studied objects in astronomy.

Weisskopf explained in a prelaunch news conference on Dec. 7 that inside the Crab Nebula is a lighthouse-like pulsing beacon, which is actually the corpse of the star that created the nebula.

Scientists have been observing these high-energy particles from the Crab Nebula for decades, though none had been this energetic.