Nebula
Crab Nebula
Supernova remnant · M1
The remains of a star seen exploding in 1054
Chinese and other astronomers recorded a 'guest star' in 1054 bright enough to see in daylight. Its expanding debris is the Crab, powered by a pulsar spinning 30 times a second.
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~6,500 light-years
Size
~11 light-years
Apparent mag.
+8.4
Pulsar spin
~30 times per second
Did you know
- It is expanding at about 1,500 km/s.
- It was the first object in Charles Messier's catalogue.
- The pulsar was discovered in 1968.
