Crab Nebula (M1)

The Crab Nebula was formed by a supernova explosion that was widely recorded by Chinese and Arab astronomers in July of 1054 CE. The stellar blast was so incredibly bright that it was visibly documented in broad daylight for several weeks. Today, the nebula exists as a rapidly expanding cloud of glowing gas and dust.

At the very center of the Crab Nebula lies the Crab Pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star left behind by the original supernova explosion. It spins on its axis approximately 30 times per second, emitting powerful beams of electromagnetic radiation. This spinning pulsar is what continually energizes the surrounding nebula, keeping it glowing visibly.

The Crab Nebula is located in the constellation Taurus, roughly 6,500 light-years away from Earth. To find it, amateur astronomers look toward the southern horn of the bull, just northwest of the bright star Zeta Tauri. Under a clear, dark sky, it can be spotted as a faint, oval smudge using a mid-sized telescope.

The Crab Nebula holds the honor of being the very first entry in Charles Messier’s famous 18th-century catalog of deep-sky objects, giving it the designation M1. Messier compiled his catalog specifically to help comet hunters distinguish between permanent fuzzy objects in the sky and passing comets. English astronomer John Bevis is actually credited with the true discovery of the nebula in 1731.