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Mark Fisher
1999-2008

Crab Nebula
M1, NGC 1952

Proper Names
Crab Nebula

Messier Number
M1

NGC/IC Number
NGC 1952

Constellation
Taurus

Right Ascension
5h 34m 40s

Declination
+22° 1' 10"

Distance
6,300 light years
1,900 parsecs

Magnitude
Apparent: +8.4
Absolute: -3.0

Dimensions
Apparent: 6' x 4'
Actual: 11 x 8 light years

Associated Star(s)
Crab Pulsar

Optimum Visibility
December/January

The pulsar that lies at the heart of the Crab Nebula. This is the remnant of the star whose supernova created the nebula nearly a thousand years ago. As it spins rapidly on its axis, the pulsar sends shockwaves out through the nebula.

In the constellation of Taurus, a star is exploding. The explosion began with a supernova almost a thousand years ago, and the resulting nebula, the Crab Nebula, is continuing to expand at more than 1,000 km per second. It is home to a powerful pulsar.

The shattered remains of an exploded star, the Crab Nebula is the result of a supernova that occurred more than six thousand light years from Earth, in the constellation of Taurus. At its core, the remains of the star that formed the nebula still exist in the form of very rapidly rotating neutron star: the so-called Crab Pulsar. Image source: European Southern Observatory.

The faint Crab Nebula is near Taurus' southern horn-star, Zeta Tauri, in the sky. This map shows the nebula artificially bright - at magnitude +8.4, it is in fact invisible to the naked eye.

Relative Galactic Position of the Crab Nebula

The famous Crab Nebula is some 6,300 light years from Earth. It falls within the boundaries of Taurus, lying in the direction of our Galaxy's rim.

Indexes

Main Index

Messier Objects Index

NGC Objects Index

Nebulae Index

Related Entries

Light Year

Taurus