The Crab Nebula is perhaps one of the most famous nebulae known to astronomers. It is Messier 1, the first entry in the Messier Catalogue, and is located about 6,000 lightyears away from Earth.
The Crab Nebula contains a spinning neutron star known as a pulsar at its centre, which rotates about 30 times a second, sending out a pulse-like signal as observed from Earth.
Crab Nebula
Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, 5 January 2020
Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/F.Summers, et al; NASA/CXC/SAO/N.Wolk, et al, & NASA/Caltech/IPAC/R.Hurt
This neutron star is found deep within the centre of the cosmic cloud. Electrons spinning at nearly the speed of light around the star’s magnetic field lines are what give the nebula its bright blue light.
M1, the Crab Nebula. Credit: Dieter Retzl / CCDGuide.com
Discovery
The Crab Nebula is the remnant of a stellar explosion known as a supernova, making it an object known as a supernova remnant, and the first recorded observation of the supernova that produced the Crab Nebula comes from Chinese astronomy.
In 1054, astronomers in China noticed a ‘guest star’ that was visible for nearly a month in the daytime sky, much like the historic reports of supernova SN 1181.
A drawing of the Crab Nebula by William Parsons. Credit: Photos.com / Getty Images
The Crab Nebula itself is 6 lightyears wide and was discovered by astronomer John Bevis in 1731, and was also notably observed and sketched by William Parsons, the Third Earl of Rosse, owner of the Leviathan telescope at Birr Castle in County Offally, Ireland.
Parsons made the famous sketch of the Crab Nebula using his 36-inch reflector in the mid-19th century, producing the drawing that gave the nebula its 'Crab' moniker.
How to locate and observe the Crab Nebula
Chart showing the location of the Crab Nebula in Taurus. Click to expand.
If you can find the constellation Orion, you can find the Crab Nebula.
The Crab Nebula is best seen in the winter months and an ideal time to find it in the Northern Hemisphere is January.
It's located in Taurus, north of Orion, so Orion is your first port of call.
The next step is locate star Betelgeuse, which is one of the most easily-located stars in the night sky because it forms the left shoulder (the viewer's left) of Orion.
Above Betelgeuse and to the right is star Aldebaran, the 'red eye' of the Bull, Taurus, which is also easy to locate.
The Crab Nebula forms an almost equilateral triangle with Betelgeuse and Aldebaran, with the nebula being located at the apex.
Use our charts to help you locate the Crab Nebula in the night sky.
Chart showing the location of the Crab Nebula in Taurus. Click to expand.
Pictures of the Crab Nebula
Below are some images of the Crab Nebula by professional observatories and astrophotographers.
M1, the Crab Nebula
James Webb Space Telescope, 30 October 2023
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Tea Temim (Princeton University)
Crab Nebula, M1
Mayall telescope, 15 March 2023
M1, the Crab Nebula
with Sky-Watcher’s StarGate 500 Go-To Dobsonian and a Canon R6 mirrorless camera. 383x 5” at ISO 10,000
M1, the Crab Nebula. Credit: Dieter Retzl / CCDGuide.com
A pulsar lies at the very heart of the Crab Nebula, seen in this image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA and ESA; Acknowledgment: J. Hester (ASU) and M. Weisskopf (NASA/MSFC)
Supernovae in
our own Galaxy
– like the one that produced the Crab Nebula, M1 (above) – are rare. The last was Kepler’s Supernova in 1604. Credit: Pete Lawrence
The Crab Nebula This is a gaseous supernova remnant with a neutron star at its heart. Spitzer worked with Hubble and Chandra to observe this object. Credit: Credits: NASA, ESA, NRAO/AUI/NSF and G. Dubner (University of Buenos Aires)
A view of the Crab Nebula captured by the VLA (radio) in red; Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared) in yellow; Hubble Space Telescope (visible) in green; XMM-Newton (ultraviolet) in blue; and Chandra X-ray Observatory (X-ray) in purple.
Crab Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12" Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Sii, Ha, Oiii filters.
Crab Nebula by Roger Brooker, Seasalter, Kent, UK. Equipment: W/O 110 Triplet @f5.6, Sx694, Baader Filters
Crab Nebula by Paul Hutchinson, Torquay, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Explorer 200p, Canon 1100D, HEQ5, SkyWatcher 50mm/162mm Finderscope, QHYCCD qhy-5 II, Astronomik CLS Canon EOS Clip
Crab Nebula by Ian Russell, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron EdgeHD 11 with 0.7 x focal reducer, iOptron CEM60-EC, Atik 460ex, Atik OAG, QHY5l II, PHD2
Crab Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron c11 sct, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters.
Crab Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron C11 Sct, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters.
Crab Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron C11 SCT, Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro Mount, Canon EOS 1100d self-modified and Astronomik CLS CCD clip filter.
