This slide demonstrates how visible light, radio wave, and gamma ray emissions from the Crab Nebula actually pulse on and off at the same rate. The duration of the pulses (shown on the X axis) are nearly identical for each wavelength. The synchronized pulses are beams of different wavelengths of light emitted from the poles of the Crab Pulsar as it spins on its axis. Because the periods are virtually identical, the wavelengths must all have a similar source. They are produced by the same process, synchrotron radiation, and emanate from the same area of the pulsar.
