M1 Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula, also known as Messier 1 (M1), is one of the brightest supernova remnants in the sky. As the name supernova remnant suggests, it's the leftovers from a star's explosive
death. When a massive star runs out of fuel, the outer layers lose their support from the heat and pressure in the star's core. They crash down towards the center of the star and then rebound in
a huge explosion - a supernova. What we see now as the Crab Nebula is all the gas — mostly hydrogen — spewed out from inside that dying star.
A curious object lurks at the center: the leftover core from the dead star, known as a pulsar. Pulsars are a particular kind of dense neutron star with a powerful magnetic field. Spinning
extremely fast — anywhere from a few to a hundred times per second — their jets of matter spew out and sweep over Earth like a lighthouse, producing the pulses we observe that give these zombie
stars their name. The pulsar in the Crab Nebula spins 30 times per second and produces the glow seen in the center of images of the nebula. The
nebula was discovered by British astronomer John Bevis in 1731.
Telescope: Celestron Edge HD 11
Camera: ASI2600MC Duo
Filters: IDAS NBZ-II Nebula Booster
Mount: AP Mach1
Exposure: NBZ:Clear 185 (m): 171 (m)
Data obtained: Nov 2025-March 2026