images

M1, the Crab Nebula in Taurus

by

E.Mouquet/Novapix

Reference

a-snv11-00510

Date

2007-01-18

M1, the Crab Nebula, is a supernova remnant from a star that exploded in 1054 AD and was witnessed and described by Chinese astronomers as being six times brighter than Venus. The supernova, located in the constellation of Taurus and about 7,000 light years away from the Earth, shined with the light of 400 million suns, was visible in the daytime for almost a month, and remained visible in the evening sky for more than a year.