What is the Crab Nebula?
Q: What is the Crab Nebula?
A: The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and 'pulsar wind nebula' in the constellation of Taurus. It was first observed by John Bevis in 1731 and corresponds to a bright supernova recorded by Chinese and Islamic astronomers in 1054.
Q: How far away from Earth is the Crab Nebula?
A: The Crab Nebula is about 6,500 light-years (2 kpc) away from Earth.
Q: What lies at the center of the nebula?
A: At the center of the nebula lies the Crab pulsar, which is a neutron star that emits pulses of radiation from gamma ray bursts to radio waves with a spin rate of 30.2 times per second.
Q: Who gave it its name?
A: Astronomer William Parsons gave it its current name in 1840.
Q: What part of our galaxy does it belong to?
A: The Crab Nebula belongs to the Perseus Arm of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Q: How fast does it expand?
A: The nebula expands at a rate of about 1,500 kilometers per second.
Q: What are some ways that scientists have used observations from this object for research purposes?
A: Scientists have used observations from this object to map out the Sun's corona, measure thicknesses in Saturn's moon Titan's atmosphere, and study celestial bodies between it and us.
