The first item in Messier's catalogue is a supernova remnant in Taurus, an expanding cloud of matter surrounding the Crab Pulsar, the active remnant of the original star whose supernova explosion created 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. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas
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.
The faint Crab Nebula is near Taurus' southern
horn-star, Tianguan, in the sky. This map shows the nebula artificially
bright - at magnitude +8.4, it is in fact invisible to
the naked eye.
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.
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