Prince honoured by Nasa with stunning purple nebula photo
The crab nebula is shaped by the death of a huge star – a supernova that burnt bright and then died young
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Nasa has paid tribute to prince by sending out a beautiful space image lit up in the singer’s characteristic purple.
The agency tweeted out a stunning picture of the Crab Nebula, lit up in purple, in tribute to the singer.
Prince died at just 57 in his Paisley Park recording studio this week. Tributes have come from across the world of music and the arts, celebrating a singer and musician who was among the best-selling artists of all time.
Nasa’s tribute was posted alongside a message reading “A purple nebula, in honour of prince, who passed away today”. The message received tens of thousands of retweets, becoming probably the most shared of the tributes paid to the singer after his death.
The picture is an image of the Crab Nebula, made up by combining images from Nasa’s own Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory.
The Crab Nebula is about 6,500 light-years. Its structure is fittingly shaped around a supernova remnant – a bright star that died out, burning bright and fast before it did.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments