Nebulae & clusters · Supernova remnant
Crab Nebula
6,500 light-years · Light crosses it in 11 years
- Across
- 11 light-years
- Vs Earth
- 11 light-years across
Open Crab Nebula in Cosmic Scale
In the app, Crab Nebula is part of the Beyond pack.
About
The Crab Nebula is the wreckage of a star that exploded in AD 1054, bright enough to be seen in daylight for three weeks and recorded by Chinese and Japanese astronomers. At its centre a neutron star spins 30 times a second.
The wreckage of a star whose explosion was recorded by astronomers in 1054.
At a glance
| Distance | 6,500 light-years |
|---|---|
| Supernova seen | AD 1054 |
| Pulsar spin | 30 times a second |
| Expansion | 1,500 km/s |
Did you know
- It was the first object in Charles Messier's famous catalogue — M1 — which he started to avoid confusing such things with comets.
- The pulsar at its heart powers the whole nebula's eerie blue glow.
- It is still visibly expanding: images decades apart show the difference.
Simulations
- Pulsar — How a dead star becomes a cosmic lighthouse
- A massive star explodes — How a star many times heavier than the Sun collapses and blows itself apart
- Two neutron stars collide — How two dead stars collide, forge gold, and were both heard and seen from Earth 130 million years later
Real photos
- The Crab Nebula in Hubble's 2024 image, used to track 25 years of its expansion — NASA, ESA, STScI, W. Blair (JHU). Image Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI) (CC BY 4.0) · source
- The Crab Nebula, Hubble's most detailed view — NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University). Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin (ESA / Hubble) (CC BY 4.0) · source