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| Catalogue and alternative designations | Crab nebula, M1 |
| Type | Supernova remnant |
| Position | 05 34 32, 22 00 52 |
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Camera and Telescope | STXL16200 and 36.8cm Ritchey Chretien |
| Focal Ratio | F9 |
| Exposure Details | A LRGB image with the luminance and colours binned 2x2. Luminance = 40 minutes, Red = Green = Blue = 25 minutes |
| Description | The Crab nebula is one of the best known objects in the sky. It is the remnant of the supernova explosion of 1054 which was noted by the Chinese and apparently the Hopi indians of Arizona and new Mexico. John Bevis observed the nebula in 1731 and William parsons gave it the Crab nebula name in 1840. The distance is about 6500 light years and the apparent magnitude is 8.4. It's quite a large object being about 7 arcminutes across. |