APOD: 2023 January 15 – M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble

Good afternoon, Rallypoint, and welcome to the January 15th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble." This composite image of the Crab Nebula is based on 24 images taken in December 1999, January 2000, and December 2000. The Crab Nebula lies about 6,500 light years away in the constellation Taurus. Today's APOD was first published in 2005.

In the Summer of 1054 A.D. Chinese astronomers reported that a star in the constellation of Taurus suddenly became as bright as the full Moon. This "guest star" remained visible for over a year. It is now understood that a supernova explosion of a massive star (whose remains are now visible as the Crab Nebula) was responsible. The core of this star collapsed to form a 10-kilometer diameter pulsar that rotates at a mind-numbing 30 times per second. The three colors you see in the filaments of the Crab Nebula represent (I'm guessing) hydrogen (red), oxygen (green), and sulfur (yellow). The blue glow is from the central pulsar.